42 43
ISSUE9/2016 • techcitynews.com ISSUE9/2016 • techcitynews.com
Torsion
Founder: Peter Bradley
Base: London
Funding: Currently funded through
bootstrapping. Received equity
investment from accelerator
Cyber London.
Founded in London
in 2013, Torsion
sets out to reduce
the risk of insider
security breaches by
managing daily business decisions
about who should have access to
which documents and information.
Many insider security breaches,
the startup says, emerge as a result of
staff having access to information they
shouldn’t have – frequently caused by
inadequate information governance,
processes and tools.
Torsion says it makes it very easy
for businesses to decide who has
access to which information and then
manages all of the individual access
configurations.
The startup was recently accepted
on to Cyber London (or Cylon),
Europe’s first cybersecurity startup
accelerator.
“Our acceptance into the
programme is a distinguished
endorsement of our innovative
idea, product execution, and unique
approach to this crucial problem
space,” Bradley told Tech City News.
THERE ARE A NUMBER
OF PROMISING NEW
COMPANIES EMERGING IN
THE CYBERSECURITY SPACE.
YESSI BELLO PEREZ TAKES
A LOOK AT FOUR OF THESE
RISING STARS.
SPECIALreport
risingstars
Ukkobox
Founders: Rafael Libardi, Paul Chu
Ngum and Edgard Regolao Jr.
Base: Bristol, now at Cylon in London
Funding: Each founder invested
approximately £5,000 in the company
during the bootstrapping stage.
Also accepted on
to Cyber London,
Ukkobox helps SMEs
deal with personal data
in a safe and compliant
manner. The startup’s technology
encrypts and spreads user files across
various existing clouds.
“We also handle and select the best
clouds to store the parts, according to
user requirements, data regulation laws
and geopolitical issues,” said Rafael
Libardi, the firm’s co-founder.
“Because we go beyond encryption,
an attacker would need to hack each
of these providers, steal the parts,
discover how to join them and finally
decrypt the file in order to see its
contents,” Libardi added.
Having released its public alpha
version, the startup is applying for
various research and development
grants whilst also planning to raise
seed funding.
According to Libardi, the biggest
challenges for startups in the
cybersecurity space are dealing with
very sensitive data and gaining a
reputation and trust in the market.
“We can’t follow the straight
lean methodology, because in
cybersecurity trust is very important,
so it is better to wait and have a
better-tested product, than a buggy
and vulnerable one that will make
the company lose its reputation,”
he concluded.
Intruder
Founders: Chris Wallis and
David Robinson
Base: London
Funding: Bootstrapped funding.
Founded in April 2015, a week before
it joined the Cylon accelerator, the
startup is now part of the IncuBus/
PwC Future of Work programme.
“So we were really in at the deep
end from the start. The mentoring we
received [at Cylon] was invaluable in
helping us refine our early ideas into
a saleable product,” said co-founder
Chris Wallis.
The startup defines itself as
“a proactive security monitoring
platform for internet-facing systems”
and claims to provide a simple
cloud-based security solution that
continually scans digital assets,
highlighting vulnerabilities and
outlining remediation advice.
Wallis added: “Information security
is no longer the preserve of techies
in the basement, it’s a board-level
issue and needs to be understood
by everyone. Intruder helps make
cybersecurity accessible, while
providing a clear view of the latest
risks to your business.”
Crypta Labs
Founder: Joe HQ Luong
Base: London
Funding: Self-funded until October
2015, but has since raised £40k
through Angels Den.
Founded in January 2014, this award-
winning mobile security startup is
developing a Quantum (True) Random
Number Generator (QRNG). The startup
claims it is one of only 12 companies in
the world to have this capability.
“Our vision is to be the leading
security solution to secure the Internet
of Everything and mission-critical
systems connected to the Internet of
Things. This vision will be realised
by building a QRNG security chip.
The Crypta Labs chip can be used to
encrypt anything from sensitive data to
transactions,” said Joe HQ Luong, the
company’s founder and CEO.
Crypta Labs’ chip can be inserted
in all devices that require hardware
encryption, such as mobile phones,
laptops or tablets.
The chip, said the CEO, is also
relevant for a wide range of industries
such as government, defence,
healthcare, financial services,
communications, network security and
transportation.
“However, for this to be viable,
encryption needs to have a low power
usage, low storage, small size and low
cost. This is currently a major challenge
which we are aiming to solve,” he
concluded. n
RISING
STARS IN
CYBERSECURITY
Yessi Bello Perez
Reporter
Tech City News
@yessi_kbello

RisingStarsOfCybersecurity

  • 1.
    42 43 ISSUE9/2016 •techcitynews.com ISSUE9/2016 • techcitynews.com Torsion Founder: Peter Bradley Base: London Funding: Currently funded through bootstrapping. Received equity investment from accelerator Cyber London. Founded in London in 2013, Torsion sets out to reduce the risk of insider security breaches by managing daily business decisions about who should have access to which documents and information. Many insider security breaches, the startup says, emerge as a result of staff having access to information they shouldn’t have – frequently caused by inadequate information governance, processes and tools. Torsion says it makes it very easy for businesses to decide who has access to which information and then manages all of the individual access configurations. The startup was recently accepted on to Cyber London (or Cylon), Europe’s first cybersecurity startup accelerator. “Our acceptance into the programme is a distinguished endorsement of our innovative idea, product execution, and unique approach to this crucial problem space,” Bradley told Tech City News. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PROMISING NEW COMPANIES EMERGING IN THE CYBERSECURITY SPACE. YESSI BELLO PEREZ TAKES A LOOK AT FOUR OF THESE RISING STARS. SPECIALreport risingstars Ukkobox Founders: Rafael Libardi, Paul Chu Ngum and Edgard Regolao Jr. Base: Bristol, now at Cylon in London Funding: Each founder invested approximately £5,000 in the company during the bootstrapping stage. Also accepted on to Cyber London, Ukkobox helps SMEs deal with personal data in a safe and compliant manner. The startup’s technology encrypts and spreads user files across various existing clouds. “We also handle and select the best clouds to store the parts, according to user requirements, data regulation laws and geopolitical issues,” said Rafael Libardi, the firm’s co-founder. “Because we go beyond encryption, an attacker would need to hack each of these providers, steal the parts, discover how to join them and finally decrypt the file in order to see its contents,” Libardi added. Having released its public alpha version, the startup is applying for various research and development grants whilst also planning to raise seed funding. According to Libardi, the biggest challenges for startups in the cybersecurity space are dealing with very sensitive data and gaining a reputation and trust in the market. “We can’t follow the straight lean methodology, because in cybersecurity trust is very important, so it is better to wait and have a better-tested product, than a buggy and vulnerable one that will make the company lose its reputation,” he concluded. Intruder Founders: Chris Wallis and David Robinson Base: London Funding: Bootstrapped funding. Founded in April 2015, a week before it joined the Cylon accelerator, the startup is now part of the IncuBus/ PwC Future of Work programme. “So we were really in at the deep end from the start. The mentoring we received [at Cylon] was invaluable in helping us refine our early ideas into a saleable product,” said co-founder Chris Wallis. The startup defines itself as “a proactive security monitoring platform for internet-facing systems” and claims to provide a simple cloud-based security solution that continually scans digital assets, highlighting vulnerabilities and outlining remediation advice. Wallis added: “Information security is no longer the preserve of techies in the basement, it’s a board-level issue and needs to be understood by everyone. Intruder helps make cybersecurity accessible, while providing a clear view of the latest risks to your business.” Crypta Labs Founder: Joe HQ Luong Base: London Funding: Self-funded until October 2015, but has since raised £40k through Angels Den. Founded in January 2014, this award- winning mobile security startup is developing a Quantum (True) Random Number Generator (QRNG). The startup claims it is one of only 12 companies in the world to have this capability. “Our vision is to be the leading security solution to secure the Internet of Everything and mission-critical systems connected to the Internet of Things. This vision will be realised by building a QRNG security chip. The Crypta Labs chip can be used to encrypt anything from sensitive data to transactions,” said Joe HQ Luong, the company’s founder and CEO. Crypta Labs’ chip can be inserted in all devices that require hardware encryption, such as mobile phones, laptops or tablets. The chip, said the CEO, is also relevant for a wide range of industries such as government, defence, healthcare, financial services, communications, network security and transportation. “However, for this to be viable, encryption needs to have a low power usage, low storage, small size and low cost. This is currently a major challenge which we are aiming to solve,” he concluded. n RISING STARS IN CYBERSECURITY Yessi Bello Perez Reporter Tech City News @yessi_kbello