Startup company DoubleYou was founded to beef up security on Apple devices

Two veteran security experts are launching a startup that aims to help other makers of cybersecurity products to up their game in protecting Apple devices, reports TechCrunch.

Their startup is called DoubleYou, the name taken from the initials of its co-founder, Patrick Wardle, who worked at the U.S. National Security Agency between 2006 and 2008. Wardle then worked as an offensive security researcher for years before switching to independently researching Apple macOS defensive security. 

Wardle is the CEO and co-founder of DoubleYou, the founder of the non-profit Objective-See Foundation, and the author of “The Art of Mac Malware” book series. Having worked at NASA and the NSA, as well as presented at countless security conferences, he is intimately familiar with aliens, spies, and talking nerdy. Passionate about macOS security, Patrick spends his days discovering Apple 0days, studying macOS malware, and releasing free open-source security tools to protect Mac users.

Mikhail Sosonkin is the CTO and co-founder of DoubleYou. An Oxford University educated software engineer and a reverse engineer, Mikhail has a broad range of technology interests which he leverages to fulfill his passion of keeping good people safe in cyberspace. As a former researcher at Apple, he has defended iPhone users against some of toughest adversaries. Mikhail shares his expertise though conference presentations and as an adjunct professor at New York University Tandon School of Engineering.

Here’s the mission of DoubleYou, according to the company’s website: With the rising prevalence and complexity of malicious threats, there was a pressing need for a novel approach to protect Apple devices. 

At DoubleYou, we’re committed to developing world-class defensive capabilities to combat the latest threats targeting Apple devices. But instead of deploying these ourselves, we aim to empower others who are building security products. 

With this vision of democratizing security in mind, our capabilities are meticulously crafted to seamlessly integrate into other security products, bolstering their detection capabilities and expanding the scope of protection they offer.