Alcyconie, a crisis management and communications company specialising in cyber and digital crises, has announced that it has raised €2 million from CyberK1, an investment vehicle created and advised by Klecha & Co, a bank specialising in the digital sector. Thanks to this operation, Alcyconie intends to recruit new profiles in order to consolidate and develop its expertise in Europe. At the same time, the company will strengthen its offering by providing an innovative SaaS solution for crisis management tools for sensitive organisations.
A concrete, pragmatic response to the growing cyber threat
The number of cyber-attacks continues to rise: in Europe alone, the number will increase by 26% by 2022¹. And the consequences are increasingly significant: the average cost of a cyber attack is now estimated to exceed €4 million².
Faced with this exponential threat and the most unstable geopolitical context, the question is no longer if or when an attack will occur, but how to deal with it: this is the question that Alcyconie addresses on a daily basis. Founded in 2018 by Stéphanie Ledoux, the company supports, prepares and advises strategic organisations (OESs, DSPs, industrial groups, financial institutions, local authorities, healthcare players, etc.) in the prevention and management of these complex, high-impact situations.
Specifically, Alcyconie’s offer covers all the stages in the management of a cyber crisis:
– Prepare and anticipate (before the crisis): it prepares organisations to deal with complex situations by formalising operational procedures and systems (crisis management plans, reflex sheets, business continuity plans, etc.) and by training teams – management, technical, communication, legal – in immersive crisis exercises carried out on Alcyconie’s secure platform, ensuring a high level of security and realism.
– Coping and management (during the crisis): as part of its 24/7 on-call service, the Alcyconie team advises crisis units on defining the appropriate crisis strategy and implementing downgraded procedures to maintain the continuity of essential operations. It also assists with internal and external crisis communications and legal issues.
– Recovery and rebuilding (post-crisis): the company supports all teams from the gradual resumption of their activities to the return to normalcy, taking care to rebuild trust with all stakeholders.
Improving crisis management tools to become a key player in cyber resilience
Thanks to CyberK1’s acquisition of a stake in the company, Alcyconie is banking on expanding its offering to capture new markets throughout Europe. The company intends to diversify the training courses it offers its customers in order to meet growing demand: while more than 60 exercises were carried out in 2022 (i.e. more than one per week), activity is expected to double this year, with an average of 2 to 3 simulations given per week. The operation will also make it possible to deploy a SaaS platform that is entirely secure and separate from the information systems of organisations that have been the victims of an attack. Currently in the test phase, this platform will provide companies with a pre-configured bubble of confidence for effective crisis management. To support the company’s growth and the development of its market-leading solution, Alcyconie will be expanding its workforce between now and the end of the year, adding to its existing team of 12 people.
“We are delighted to be working with CyberK1 on the development of Alcyconie. There are still many challenges in cyber and digital crisis management, which has become a real issue of resilience and reputation for organisations. The expansion of our offering, which includes the development of a crisis management platform that is unique on the market, is essential to support them in their day-to-day issues and to become the leader in cyber resilience in France and Europe,” said Stéphanie Ledoux, CEO and founder of Alcyconie.
Stéphane Klecha, Managing Partner of Klecha & Co. and Chairman of CyberK1, added: “We are delighted to support Alcyconie in its development. Cyber and digital crisis management requires reference players and we are convinced that the company has all the characteristics to become a leader in this field.”
About Alcyconie
Founded in 2018 by Stéphanie Ledoux, Alcyconie is a pure-player consultancy in cyber and digital crisis management and communication. Its cybercrisis management as-a-service approach covers all stages of crisis management: crisis preparation, cyber crisis training and simulations, cyber crisis monitoring and communication, 24/7 on-call, unique crisis simulation platform (PIA®). With Qualiopi certification for its training activities, the firm has already assisted some fifty companies and trained more than 1,500 people in cyber crisis management (COMEX, technical and legal teams, etc.). In 2022, Alcyconie joined Cyber Booster, the first French start-up studio dedicated to cybersecurity, and won the Investor Day prize at European Cyber Week. In 2023, the company raised €2 million from CyberK1.
For more information: https://alcyconie.com/
About CyberK1
A vehicle created and advised by Klecha & Co, a European private investment bank specialising in M&A structuring and fundraising in the digital sector. With a capital of around ten million euros, this investment vehicle is designed to complement the bank’s offering by providing capital and advice to companies in the cyber sector with high growth potential. It will be chaired by Stéphane Klecha, Managing Partner of Klecha & Co.
