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3h ago

Unit 221B Raises $5 Million to Scale eWitness Tracking of Youth Hacker Groups

Investor backing positions the New Jersey firm to accelerate HUMINT‑driven collaboration among vetted investigators.

Unit 221B's top team photo, featuring (left to right) Lance James, May Chen-Contino, and Allison Nixon
Unit 221B has announced new funding.
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Overview

  • The company closed a $5 million seed round led by J2 Ventures, with participation from Pipeline Capital, to expand its threat‑disruption platform.
  • Unit 221B says the capital will add tools that speed evidence capture, case handoffs, and investigative collaboration within its invite‑only eWitness system.
  • eWitness is used by Fortune 500 companies and international, federal, and local law‑enforcement agencies, and it emphasizes curated HUMINT and preserved high‑signal data.
  • Executives report the firm has supported arrests and loss recoveries in cases tied to English‑speaking groups such as Scattered Spider and the wider community known as The Com.
  • The raise comes as financially motivated youth crews escalate large‑scale breaches and extortion, with the FBI’s IC3 recording $16.6 billion in cybercrime losses in 2024.