Israeli Startup Cymphony Secures Corporate Data Against AI Agents
Israeli cybersecurity startup Cymphony has launched a platform designed to manage access to corporate data for both human employees and the rapidly growing number of AI agents. The company notes that traditional security systems were built for human roles with stable access privileges, whereas autonomous AI systems can connect to numerous services, process vast amounts of data, and act at speeds beyond human capability.
Cymphony's platform centers on a dynamic 'workforce graph' that maps employee and AI agent identities, their access rights, corporate data, and actual activity. This visualization allows security teams to identify who, whether human or AI, has access to specific files, databases, and applications, assess the necessity of that access, and pinpoint risky permission combinations.
The system operates without installing software on end-user devices, connecting instead to corporate systems like SharePoint, Box, Snowflake, and Salesforce. The challenge is particularly acute when generative AI is integrated into existing company infrastructure, as AI tools can inherit user permissions and quickly access information that a human user might rarely, if ever, use.
Cymphony cited an example where integrating ChatGPT with SharePoint inadvertently granted interns potential access to sensitive legal documents due to prior access control misconfigurations. In another case, the company identified approximately 85,000 files accessible to AI agents at a large U.S. public corporation, which were subsequently secured before any unauthorized access occurred. The startup also highlighted an incident where an external contractor used an unauthorized AI tool to scan thousands of confidential documents using their legitimate access rights.
Beyond detection, Cymphony's own AI agents can investigate incidents, prioritize threats, and automate remediation of certain access settings. Founded approximately two years ago by Talpiot program alumni Shai Dekel, Idan Berkovitz, and Edi Gottlieb, Cymphony operates from Tel Aviv and New York. Its clients include KKR, Syngenta, Cass Information Systems, and Athennian.
The company has raised a total of $30 million, with $5 million in seed funding from Sequoia Capital and $25 million in a Series A round co-led by Sequoia and SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund, valuing the startup at over $100 million. Cymphony enters the AI agent security market, where it joins fellow Israeli startup Oasis Security, also founded by Talpiot alumni. While Oasis focuses on machine identity and access management, Cymphony emphasizes the actual data access granted to humans and AI agents and the justification for such access. Notably, Cyera acquired Oasis for $1 billion in September 2026, consolidating data protection and machine identity management technologies.
