Three UK-based cyber security firms have received a total £1 million in funding to develop new approaches to defending UK military systems and networks from cyber threats.

Marking the second phase of the of the Defence and Security Accelerator's ‘Predictive Cyber Analytics’ competition, the three lead organisations, in collaboration with three additional organisations, will develop, adapt and merge the novel approaches explored in Phase 1 of the competition, to proactively defend deployed UK military systems and networks from the rapidly growing threat of offensive cyber action from aggressive adversaries.

The organisations being funded are Bristol-based RiskAware Ltd, which was awarded around £450,000 in collaboration with the University of Southampton; Vauxhall-based, DecisionLab, which received nearly £240,000 in collaboration with DIEM Analytics and Actica; and Gloucestershire-based, Montvieux Ltd, which has been awarded nearly £250,000.

Project manager, Rebecca Duncan said: "Cyber security has been in an arms race for decades, with hackers continuously exploiting new vulnerabilities while developers race to patch them.

"This DASA competition looks to get the UK ahead of these threats and better prepare us against – and even predict - future cyber attacks.

"As our understanding of adversaries and attack patterns improves, increased computing power and data growth continues to drive the artificial intelligence revolution with multiple new possibilities emerging to keep the UK safe and prosperous."

DASA delivery manager Robert Hammond-Smith added: "This DASA competition is bringing together the best minds in industry and academia with the brightest government scientists and talent from the Armed Forces to innovate for a safer future for everyone in the UK."

Share Story: