Sanctum (company)
Web application security company founded in 1997 by Israeli intelligence veterans Gili Raanan and Eran Reshef
| Sanctum
| |
|---|---|
| Logo |  Sanctum logo, 2003 (archived website) |
| Type | Private; assets bought by Watchfire in 2004 |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder(s) | Gili Raanan, Eran Reshef |
| Industry | Web application security |
| Services | AppScan (web application testing); AppShield (application firewall) |
Sanctum was a web application security company founded in 1997 by Gili Raanan and Eran Reshef.[1] Ctech describes Raanan as "an alumnus of the elite Israeli military intelligence unit 8200", and Reshef says that before Sanctum he "was an officer in an Israeli elite intelligence unit".[2][1] Watchfire bought its products, intellectual property and most of its staff in 2004, and IBM later sold its products as Rational AppScan.[3][1]
History
Eran Reshef writes that he "founded and managed Sanctum together with Gili Raanan in 1997", and that "At Sanctum, we invented the market-leading web application security assessment suite".[1] Ctech reported that Sanctum "developed a firewall for internet applications" and was sold for $40 million in 2004.[2]
In July 2004 InfoWorld reported that Watchfire would buy Sanctum's products and intellectual property, "including the AppScan Web application testing software and AppShield application firewall". Watchfire would take on more than 75 Sanctum employees, "including a research and development hub in Israel", to join its development centre in Ottawa, according to Mike Weider, Watchfire's founder and chairman.[3] Reshef writes that Sanctum "was eventually acquired by IBM and its products were sold as Rational AppScan", and that "IBM later sold AppScan and several other software products to HCL for $1.8 billion".[1]
Guy Podjarny
Guy Podjarny, later co-founder of Snyk, said that after leaving the army he "worked for an Israeli startup that got acquired by a Canadian startup", moved to Ottawa, and that "that company got acquired by IBM later on".[4] He described "a decade in AppSec, and through three acquisitions of Sanctum".[5]
Intelligence links
- Gili Raanan: "an alumnus of the elite Israeli military intelligence unit 8200" (Ctech).[2]
- Eran Reshef: "Prior to Sanctum, I was an officer in an Israeli elite intelligence unit" (his own website, which does not name the unit).[1]
- Guy Podjarny (employee): served in Unit 8200 by his own account.[4]
See also
- Gili Raanan
- Eran Reshef
- Guy Podjarny
- Unit 8200
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Eran Reshef, About Eran Reshef eranreshef.com (personal website), accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sophie Shulman and Meir Orbach, The Gili Ra’anan model: Questions emerging from Cyberstarts' remarkable success Ctech, 13 June 2024, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 InfoWorld, Watchfire buys application security company Sanctum InfoWorld, 26 July 2004, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jon Sakoda, Guy Podjarny, founder of Snyk: building conviction on a contrarian bet The Decibel Podcast (transcript), accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Adam Stacoviak, From acquisition to full conviction with Guy Podjarny, Founder of Snyk Founders Talk (podcast transcript), no. 71, 3 July 2020, accessed 21 October 2026.