HD Moore leaving Rapid7 to join new venture capital firm

BOSTON (Reuters) - HD Moore, one of the world's most prominent cyber security experts, said on Wednesday that he is leaving his post as chief research officer with Rapid7 Inc to help set up a new venture capital firm in his hometown of Austin, Texas.

Moore is founder of Metasploit, a widely used software suite for attacking networks in "penetration tests" that seek to find holes in networks.

He joined Rapid7 in 2009 after selling Metasploit to Rapid7.

Moore disclosed his plans in a blog on Rapid7's website. It did not name the new firm or other partners.

"It's pretty early. We still have to fund raise," he said in a telephone interview. "We'll focus on helping companies get to market faster. Security will probably be our focus."

(Reporting by Jim Finkle and Dustin Volz, Editing by Franklin Paul)