PhishMe Inc., a spear phishing simulator, has closed a$2.5 million Series A round, led by Paladin Capital Group. The company will use the funding to support its expansion in the U.S. and abroad, to enhance its sales and business development efforts, and to solidify future technology partnerships while continuing to enhance the product line and provide a premier level of professional services to its customers. With this new investment, Christopher Steed, Vice President at Paladin Capital, is joining PhishMe Inc.'s Board of Directors.

PhishMe Inc. offers a turnkey service that helps change employee behavior in responding to targeted phishing attacks – the #1 attack vector used to compromise corporate and government networks today. PhishMe, which provides phishing awareness training for employees of government agencies, universities, and large enterprises, has successfully trained over 3.5 million workers to protect themselves from the increasingly-sophisticated tactics and scams employed by today's cyber criminals and foreign actors. With PhishMe, employees are immersed in real-world "spear phishing experiences" and presented appropriate bite-sized training if found susceptible.

"This strategic partnership will bring a new and unique perspective on cyber security to employees and users worldwide. We look forward to working with Chris and hope this will be a long and beneficial relationship," said Rohyt Belani, CEO and Co-Founder, PhishMe.

"PhishMe's solution and professional services offer a refreshing method to mitigate the advanced persistent threat," saidChristopher Steed, Vice President, Paladin Capital Group. "PhishMe addresses the root cause – the human – in an effective, yet sensitive, manner."

"At Paladin, we're proud to support innovative companies like PhishMe that are bringing to market unique solutions that solve major, worldwide problems like security in the cyber age," said Lieutenant General (Ret.) Kenneth Minihan, Managing Director at Paladin Capital. "When you look at the largest data breaches that have occurred over the past few years, it is clear that defending our most vital assets cannot be accomplished through physical and IT security alone. PhishMe's approach to using hands-on cyber security education and awareness to improve Internet safety behaviors is critical to combatting today's most advanced threats."

Paladin Capital's investment will help accelerate PhishMe's technology development and help the company foster new partnerships in the industry, which are already underway.