Ollie Bone, April 17, 2019 8 min read
After an impressive competitive group of applications and careful judging process, we are delighted to announce the 20 exceptional cyber security companies to make up the inaugural cohort of Tech Nation Cyber, the sector-specific scaleup programme.
Margot James, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, commented: “Congratulations to all the firms selected for this new programme which shows the depth of tech talent right across the country. This important scheme will not only allow promising cyber security startups to access world-class expert advice but also help us achieve our aim of making Britain the safest place in the world to be online.”
The goal of Cyber is to provide the UK’s most promising and ambitious cyber security scaleups with curated workshops, mentorships, guidance, meetups, and honest conversations, led by expert scale coaches and knowledgeable entrepreneurs. In this six-month long programme the cohort is given the help they need to navigate fundamental growth challenges. The aim is to cover everything from recruitment, scaling abroad, creating a sustainable company culture and everything in between.
Ollie Bone, Cyber Programme Lead at Tech Nation said: “A group as exciting as this has never come together in the Cyber Security sector. A community of 20 companies – chosen by our expert judging panel on scaling ability – coming together with founders from the companies that paved the way for British success in the sector. With companies from Belfast, Cardiff and Glasgow its a true representation of the strength this nation has in cyber innovation.”
Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, commented: “I am delighted that Belfast-based companies SaltDNA and RepKnight will be joining the Tech Nation Cyber programme. Cyber security is one of the fastest-growing digital tech sectors in Northern Ireland and attracts record levels of global investment. There is tremendous talent on offer and world-class Universities which make Northern Ireland the ideal location for fast-growth tech companies. I look forward to seeing SaltDNA and RepKnight go from strength to strength and help cement the UK as a world leader in cybersecurity.”
The programme will entail peer-to-peer learning, kicking off at the Farncombe Estate in the Cotswolds on 2–3 May. The launch will be led by market-leading experts within the cyber security space, with speakers including: Dave Palmer, Director of Technology and Emily Orton, CMO at Darktrace, James Chappell, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Digital Shadows, and James Hadley, CEO of Immersive Labs.
The 20 companies we have selected to join our first cohort are some of the most ambitious and talented mid-stage cyber experts from across the UK. We are delighted to have them on board and excited to see what the future will bring for them.
Rt Hon David Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland, commented: “Scotland’s reputation as an innovator in technology is world renowned and I’m delighted to see us leading the way in cyber security. Finding ways to fight cyber threats is one of the world’s most pressing problems and Glasgow’s tech sector has the innovation and experience to be on the front line. The UK Government has even chosen the city to host its CyberUK 2019 conference. I am pleased to see this recognised by Tech Nation and I offer my congratulations to My1Login on being chosen to join their first national cyber security growth programme.”
Mark Darby, Founder & CEO of ISMS.Online, a part of Alliantist Limited and a member of this year’s cohort said: “We’ve achieved product market fit with growing international activity and are now ready to scale up – big time. We look forward to achieving that goal in working with Tech Nation, the other Cyber 1.0 businesses and of course the world class advisors supporting the programme too.”
Poppy Gustafsson, CEO and Co-founder of Darktrace, commented: “Cyber security is one of the biggest challenges facing modern society. Cutting edge innovations are the only way to protect our digital infrastructures and safeguard the services we rely on. Darktrace is proud to support Tech Nation’s new cyber programme, to maintain the UK’s position as a global leader in cyber defence.”
As a sector specific programme, Cyber shows an impressive range of specialities and expert areas, which reflects which services are in-demand, but also highlights more emerging technologies.
Kevin Foster, UK Government Minister for Wales, commented: “Cyber security represents an increasingly important part of our daily lives, and Wales already plays a leading role in keeping our data and systems safe while training up the next generation of experts. This programme will initially support two Welsh companies in Caerphilly and Cardiff in developing their potential and I look forward to seeing other companies from across Wales getting involved in the future.”
Ed Macnair, CEO of Censornet, said: ““I’m delighted to join this support network of industry leaders, to help the next cohort of entrepreneurs flourish in the evolving cyber security sector. Growth comes with many challenges and I hope sharing my values and offering practical advice will help the scaleups as they join the industry’s race to innovate faster than our enemy.”
As Cyber is a sector programme, we are pleased with the wide range of skills and innovation the companies in this year’s cohort show. Their technology and values reflect the need for the public and democratising cyber, but also rapid innovation to compete with ever evolving and more sophisticated threats. We proudly announce our cohort.
Assuria
Reading | @AssuriaLtd
The software house Assuria develops its own cyber security software solutions for a range of different uses and sectors; Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), File Integrity Monitoring (FIM), Vulnerability Assessment and Big Data Security Analytics. These solutions are also integrated into Assuria’s Multi-tenant SOC Management Platform, which is provided to partners, enabling them to deliver enterprise-grade Managed Security Services to SME’s at affordable cost.
Awen Collective
Caerphilly | @awencollective
Awen Collective is an award-winning software company that develop digital forensics software solutions for industrial control systems, robotics and internet-of-things devices. Their products consist of “Profile”, a compliance checking software tool for critical infrastructure, and “Dot”, an asset and risk discovery tool. Awen also offers consultations, training, digital forensics and incident response in industrial environments.
Corax
London | @coraxcyber
Corax provides data, modelling and loss analytics on the cyber exposure of millions of interconnected companies worldwide. With the help of its scalable technology platform, combined with an extensive dataset and probabilistic modelling, it enables them to accurately manage and predict cyber risk exposure and provide clients with precise risk assessments.
Crypta Labs
London | @CryptaLabs
Crypta Labs is eliminating weaknesses in traditional PRNG encryption with their patent-pending Quantum Random Number Generators (QRNG) technology. The technology measures the photons from light to create a truly random number which can be used to seed the generation of encryption keys that secure communication between devices.
CybSafe
London | @cybsafe
CybSafe is a cyber security and data analytics company. They focus on influence, measurement and quantification of people-centric cyber security risks and resilience. Their cloud-based platform provides the world’s first intelligent cyber security awareness, behaviour and culture risk management solution, fusing psychology and behavioural science with artificial intelligence and data science.
DynaRisk
London | @dynarisk
DynaRisk wants to help the average consumer and SMEs to protect themselves online and have created the world’s first personal Cyber Security Score; the score is determined by assessing over 70 risk factors and indicates the likelihood of being defrauded or having information stolen. Alongside the score, users are given access to their own personal dashboard which contains an action plan, reports and more, tailored to their individual needs and designed to improve their safety online.
Fortium Technologies
Bridgend | @FortiumTech
Fortium keeps sensitive content secure from hackers, pirates and unintentional distribution within media and entertainment. Their software products focus on solving cyber security problems with a minimal amount of impact on the end user experience. They have become one of the most trusted providers within this space, working with the biggest film and TV studios for 20 years. Last year alone, Fortium products protected content which generated over $20bn of box-office revenue.
iProov
London | @iproov
iProov assures the genuine presence of online users and authenticates this with biometrics, in the form of face and palm authentication. Their patented Flashmark technology is unique in protecting against replays and deepfake synthetic video attacks. Their IDMatcher tool makes it possible to prove peoples identity in an online self-serving context, by matching their faces against their photo ID.
ISMS.online
Brighton and Hove | @isms_online
ISMS.online helps organisations demonstrate they can be trusted for information security management. This all-in-one place secure cloud service for ISO 27001, and much more, offers extensive end-to-end cyber security management, resilience and assurance of compliance for shareholders, customers, staff and supply chains.
Keepnet Labs
London | @keepnetlabs
Keepnet Labs protects businesses throughout the lifecycle of email-based cyber-attacks. They offer a full spectrum suite of email-based defence including threat monitoring, email threat simulation, user awareness and phishing incident response that encapsulates an integrated approach to people, processes and technology thus reducing threat in all areas of cyber risk.
LuJam Security
Bristol | @lujamcyber
LuJam is making Cyber Security more financially manageable for small to mid-sized organisations, offering Advanced Cyber Protection Service starting at £3 – £5 per seat, per month. Their state-of-the-art data science provides visibility of your network activity, automatically deals with threats and immediately alerts users of issues.
My1Login
Glasgow | @my1login
My1Login has won multiple awards for their widely compatible Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution that eliminates password-related cyber-security risks and addresses critical compliance obligations such as GDPR. The technology eliminates the need to remember and reset passwords by storing authentication data (i.e. passwords) using client-side encryption.
Novastone Media
London | @novastonemedia
Novastone built their solution from the ground up to satisfy security and operational requirements from their clients. They offer chat operating systems in the cloud or on-premise to organisations that use instant messaging internally or externally. They cater to everyone from banks to healthcare and have also integrated IM solutions for popular apps like WhatsApp.
Quant Network
London | @quant_network
Quant Network is aiming to provide solutions to build an internet we all can trust. They combine their experience in cyber security, government, industry and blockchain technology to create innovative products that will provide results, creating a secure online environment by verifying and validating the correspondence you send without leaving any personal data with them.
Red Sift
London | @redsift
Red Sift is a data-driven cybersecurity business that uses machine learning to help organisations of all sizes and sectors address day-to-day security challenges. It offers a dashboard of tools that analyse and synthesise data from core business processes, such as email, to help users to better manage their online security.
Skurio
Belfast | @SkurioC
Skurio is on a mission to reduce digital risk by identifying threats, detecting data breaches outside the network and automating response. Our Cloud based SaaS solution, BreachAlert, continuously monitors the open, deep and Dark Web to identify potential threats and discover breaches of corporate data. Tailored searches are quick and easy to set up and automatically alert security teams when data has been published, enabling effective action to be taken faster to deal with the impact, mitigate risk and minimise loss
SaltDNA
Belfast | @saltcontrol
SaltDNA builds secure enterprise mobile communication solutions. Their product provides secure voice calls, messaging, conference calls and image/file transfers. The founders of SaltDNA share a background in enterprise security, telecoms, network optimisation and mobile application development and used this experience to create the first solution for encrypted communications between devices with centralised control for the enterprise.
SE Labs
London | @selabsuk
With the goal of improving information technology security, SE Labs assesses products and services designed to detect attacks and protect against intrusions. They test a range of solutions, including endpoint software, network appliance and cloud services. The testing of commercial products makes it possible to discover areas of improvement for detection and protection.
White Bullet Solutions
London
White Bullet Solutions protects brands and media companies by preventing ad fraud and helping them stay IP risk compliant. Their AI analyses and scores websites or apps that may be breaching copyright on intellectual property. This enables advertisers, search engines and ISPs to avoid funding criminal sites and activity online.
XQ Cyber
Cheltenham | @XQCyber
With a vision of making cyber security available to everyone, simplified and easy to use, XQ Cyber focuses on protecting customers from cybercrime with their service, CyberScore. The automated cyber security testing and peer rating service converts technical data drawn from computer networks into a clear, concise risk rating and improvement plans.
The cyber growth programme lasts from May to late September 2019. The programme consists of carefully planned workshops, mentoring sessions with experienced founders and peer-to-peer learning that will help the cohort resolve issues companies face when scaling.
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