Light Point Security is a rising star in the Wall Street Journal’s Startup of the Year contest and documentary series.

Out of more than 500 hopeful startups across the United States, the Baltimore-based malware protection company survived the third elimination round to reach the final five, the Wall Street Journal announced on Thursday morning.

One of the judges, Wall Street Journal editor Andy Regal, commented in a video, “I’ve been harping all along about my interest in finding CEOs in this documentary series who can really communicate what their business is and we’ve had challenges with that at times, but I think the team at Light Point Security, they do it so quickly and so simply.”

Light Point Security has been featured in several videos since the start of the contest, with co-founders Zuly Gonzalez and Beau Adkins speaking about their experiences working at the National Security Agency, balancing work and family and navigating social media promotion.

The company has gained national attention for its innovative method of protecting computers and networks from malicious online files and spying. Their software allows users to browse the internet from a virtual machine in the cloud, running on Light Point Security’s computers rather than their own.

Light Point Security plans to participate as a featured speaker in the CyberMaryland 2013 conference in October. The company was also an InvestMaryland Challenge finalist last spring and has won accolades in several national and regional contests and rankings.