As hackers continue to improve their methods, traditional perimeter-focused security software is becoming less and less effective at preventing breaches. In response, organizations are turning to network protection providers with a more modern approach like Veriflow Systems Inc., which raised $8.2 million from Menlo Ventures and NEA this morning to capitalize on the trend.

The startup draws its name from a vulnerability analysis technology that its three co-founders developed as part of a research project for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their invention paved the way for the application of formal verification, a mathematically exhaustive method of assessing software and hardware integrity, to entire networks. Veriflow sells a commercial implementation that can simulate every possible future state of an organization’s infrastructure to identify scenarios where a compromise could occur. The evaluation is so quick that administrators are able to run a check before every configuration change to ensure they’re not accidently creating an opening for hackers.

Moreover, the software can also be set to look for other types of network issues by defining custom detention policies in its management interface. Veriflow says that the feature enables organizations to find technical problems that have the potential to cause outages and even spot specific compliance breaches. For instance, a hospital could use the platform to check if workers share patient data in violation of HIPPA regulations. The funding from today’s round will enable the startup to broaden its value proposition even further.

Veriflow plans on hiring more engineers to speed up development efforts and expand its sales and marketing efforts in the background. The startup hopes to launch its software into general availability later this year. Until then, the team will work on fleshing out its go-to-market strategy and attend industry conferences to raise awareness about formal verification.

Image via Geralt