Faction Networks Launches Crowdfunding Campaign on StartEngine to Deliver "Zero Trust for the Rest of Us"

[Troy, NY April 8, 2025] — Faction Networks, a cybersecurity start-up today announced the launch of a crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine. The funds raised will support the completion and commercial launch of the company’s decentralized cybersecurity platform, which is designed to offer an alternative to traditional VPN and SDN solutions.

Faction Networks is developing a solution aimed at improving cybersecurity for individuals, teams, and small to mid-sized organizations. The platform addresses vulnerabilities commonly associated with VPNs and the complexity of software-defined networks (SDNs), particularly for environments and use cases where smart, legacy, and non-traditional devices are connected to the internet - commonly referred to as Operational Technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT).

The company’s leadership includes technology industry veterans such as CEO Dave Rand, former CTO of Trend Micro and Co-Founder of AboveNet, and Chief Product Officer Geoff Halstead. Faction’s executive team has experience in leading previous technology ventures, including public offerings and acquisitions.

“We call it ‘Zero Trust for the Rest of UsTM’ because we believe that everyone deserves access to true Zero Trust cybersecurity, regardless of their technical expertise,” said Dave Rand, Faction Co-Founder, CEO & CTO. “The existing centralized, Cloud-first models are failing repeatedly and spectacularly, yet the industry continues to pretend this is working, it’s clearly not: we need to change our approach. Faction Networks is committed to empowering users with a completely decentralized architecture and the tools they need to take control of their security in an increasingly dangerous world.”

The platform is built around a decentralized, encrypted private network model that is managed solely by the network owner. Only authenticated and invited devices can access the network. Faction Networks architecture allows for Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) without reliance on centralized cloud infrastructure and simplifies deployment and management.

Faction Networks offers tools for end-to-end encryption of data across email, cloud storage, and endpoint devices. Additional hardware components, such as Faction Pods and Portals, are intended to help secure various connected devices.

“We are excited to bring Faction Networks to the StartEngine platform, which is the best-of-breed. Crowdfunding is a particularly great fit for Faction because we can build an initial community of customer champions and evangelists at the same time as we do our raise,” said Geoff Halstead, Faction Co-Founder and CPO. “ The philosophy and vision of StartEngine to democratize access to early stage venture funding is perfectly aligned with our mission to make true Zero Trust cybersecurity accessible to consumers and SMBs.”

The company frames its approach as a response to growing cybersecurity challenges, including threats from AI-driven attacks, organized cybercrime, and geopolitical conflict. Faction Networks will be offered with a SaaS-based business model, addressing a projected $93 billion total addressable market for its segments within the cybersecurity industry by 2027.

More information about the crowdfunding campaign and investment opportunity is available at: www.startengine.com/offering/faction-communications.

About Faction Networks: Faction Networks is a leading innovator in cybersecurity solutions, dedicated to building platforms, apps, and tools that enable everyday users and small to mid-sized organizations and groups to achieve security and privacy for their networking, devices, communications, and data. With a focus on decentralization, ease of use, and comprehensive protection, Faction Networks is committed to transforming the way people think about and use cyber security with solutions that are private and secure, easy to use, and always, always controlled by the owners.

For more information about Faction Networks, visit www.factionnetworks.com.

Media Contact: Amy Cunha, Big Picture PR for Faction amy@bigpicpr.com, 415-350-3154