UK-founded Hack The Box raises $1.3M to build the world’s largest hacker community
The British-Greek cybersecurity startup Hack the Box has announced a $1.3M investment to further their effort in becoming the world’s largest hacker community.
As more and more data is collected online, companies become increasingly vulnerable to data breaches. Last month, 2.1 billion records were leaked by cyber attacks. Despite the impact of these security incidents, the demand for trained cybersecurity professionals vastly outstrips the available supply. Worldwide, the cybersecurity workforce gap has increased to nearly three million people. Hack the Box aims to address this shortage through its innovative penetration testing lab, which allows cybersecurity enthusiasts to build their skills through interactive challenges.
Haris Pylarinos founded Hack the Box in 2017, after realizing the most exciting and productive way to build cybersecurity skills was through practice, rather than reading books or acquiring certificates. After completing a number of training sessions and online challenges, he began to build a platform that simulated a computer system that could be hacked into. By applying game mechanics on top, Pylarinos was able to create a complete “training playground” of virtual machines for cybersecurity enthusiasts to practice their skills. Each week, Hack the Box creates a new virtual machine for players to break into. Successful hacking attempts earn players points and a place on the global leaderboard, helping to burnish the credentials of the community’s most proficient members. The platform has opportunities for aspiring hackers of all difficulty levels, with some of the most difficult challenges taking days to complete.
Today, the Hack the Box community serves over 120,000 members worldwide alongside offering opportunities for enterprise customers. Clients such as Jet.com and EY are utilizing the platform to build their own private Hack the Box labs, as well as to find candidates for cybersecurity positions.
According to founder and CEO Haris Pylarinos, “Hacking is the new gaming. We cater to people who want to test and advance their skills in cybersecurity, and we are thrilled to bring more people into the game every day.” The remainder of the Hack the Box founding team includes James Hooker, as Technical Director and Aris Zikopoulous as CCO. This investment round was led by Marathon Venture Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund led by partners George Tziralis and Panos Papadopoulos. This investment will be used to expand Hack the Box’s free services as well as offer entirely new labs to allow real-time interaction between users.
source techeu
Industry: Cyber Security News
Latest Jobs
-
- Security Architect | MoD - Security Cleared. OUTSIDE IR35 | Hampshire
- N/A
- Outside IR35
-
Security Architect | MOD | Security Cleared | Outside IR35 | Hampshire Commutable The successful candidate must be willing to undergo DV Clearance, ideally already holding active clearance. You will produce high and low level security architecture documentation, guiding and validating designs for systems deployed within sensitive environments. The role requires providing specialist security input into solution design, service transition and change initiatives, working closely with engineering, operations, client and third party stakeholders. You must have current hands on architectural experience, including VMware secure platform design and virtualisation architecture, alongside AWS expertise. This is an outside IR35 contract- 6 month rolling. Part of a longer term MoD project
-
- Active Directory | RBA engineer | UK Remote | SC Clearable
- United Kingdom
- N/A
-
Technical Active Directory (AD) and RBA specialist needed to play a key part in complex, enterprise scale Active Directory and access transformation programmes. You will work alongside senior team, helping reshape access models, modernise legacy directory structures and strengthen security posture across secure environments. This is hands on delivery within high impact projects where your work directly improves access control, compliance and operational resilience. Active UK Security Clearance required. This is a remote role with client travel. Implementation of Role Based Access Control across large AD estates Restructuring complex permission models, security groups and delegated access Supporting domain controller upgrades and core directory improvements Applying security hardening standards and remediating audit findings Enhancing authentication, policy and access governance frameworks Troubleshooting and resolving technical AD challenges within live environments Producing robust technical documentation and identifying project risks You must have the following technical experience Enterprise Active Directory administration Role Based Access and permission remediation OU design and governance Group Policy management Security group delegation models DNS and DHCP services Kerberos authentication / NTLM PowerShell scripting and automation Azure AD | Entra ID Hybrid identity environments Identity Governance PAM
-
- Identity and Access Management Consultant (Saviynt & Microsoft Entra) | UK
- United Kingdom
- N/A
-
Role summary Technical IAM consultant delivering identity governance and cloud identity solutions to enterprise clients. What you will do Implement / Configure / Deploy Saviynt IGA / Microsoft Entra solutions: Lead technical workshops, gather requirements and translate into solution designs. Troubleshoot complex issues, support testing and deployments. Produce technical artefacts and configuration guides. Key skills Hands-on Saviynt IGA experience (workflow, connectors, access governance). Strong practical knowledge of Microsoft Entra ID / Azure AD identity and access controls. Understanding of identity protocols (SAML, OAuth, OpenID Connect) and hybrid identity. Experience with APIs / REST for integrations and automation. What we are looking for Proven delivery experience in IAM / IGA projects, preferably in consulting. Confident communicator with client-facing delivery exposure.
-
- Cyber Security Technical Presales Consultant | UK | Managed Services SOC / Pentesting etc
- England
- N/A
-
Experienced Technical Pre Sales Cybersecurity Consultant to support organisations across the UK. This role focuses on delivering advisory, high level solution design, and security uplift services that improve security outcomes, address operational challenges, and enable informed technology decisions within complex and regulated environments. The position blends technical pre sales expertise with a consultative approach, working closely with technical, operational, and commercial stakeholders to shape effective and scalable cybersecurity solutions such as Managed Services SOC / Pentesting etc The individual must be able to achieve UK Security Clearance. Key Responsibilities Provide technical pre sales support across cybersecurity solutions and services for organisations operating across multiple industry sectors Engage stakeholders to understand security challenges, risks, compliance requirements, and operational pain points Deliver advisory guidance and recommendations to strengthen security posture and organisational resilience Translate customer requirements into clear, outcome focused technical and commercial solution designs Act as a trusted technical advisor throughout the sales and early delivery lifecycle Produce clear technical documentation, recommendations, and customer facing materials suitable for regulated environments Collaborate closely with sales, delivery, and technical teams to align solutions with customer needs Experience and Skills Proven experience in technical pre sales or cybersecurity consultancy Experience working across multiple industries, ideally within regulated or complex environments Broad knowledge of cybersecurity technologies, managed services, and risk based approaches Strong communication skills with the ability to engage both technical and non technical stakeholders Confident operating in a client facing, consultative role UK based role with remote working Occasional travel for customer engagement as required