Cybersecurity to take centre stage

The question of cybersecurity is not just a matter of the banking industry but a number of different industries from healthcare, travel, higher education to government agencies in the digital age.

• This July, Capital One bank hack exposed its 100 million customers’ personal information.

• Credit rating bureau Equifax got 143 million customers’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers stolen in 2017.

• 30 million users of Facebook got their data compromised in 2018.

• The hotel chain Marriott put its 383 million customers’ data - credit card numbers, passport numbers, email address, phone numbers, names - to danger.

• In June 2019 the Australian National University discovered a major data breach exposing 200,000 staff and student’s information including bank account numbers and passport numbers dating back 19 years.

The total value of $US5.2 trillion is at risk globally due to cyber attacks and Global Market Insights expects the cybersecurity market to grow to $300 billion over the next five years. 

At Novum Insights, we’ve been tracking a number of companies leveraging cutting edge technologies to combat cyber crimes. Data shows that Blockchain and AI are the two most gravitating technologies predicted to enhance cybersecurity operations. 

Storing and publishing data on blockchain eliminates the risk of altering data, fraud and attacks. Decentralised database makes hackers harder to target attacks. 

Did you know that the US Department of Defense is looking to implement blockchain technology to advance the country’s cybersecurity? Also, New Jersey signed Blockchain Initiative Task Force into law to explore potential use cases of blockchain on the state level.

Artificial Intelligence has a myriad of benefits to offer including, but not limited to machine learning firewalls, real-time analysis, automated behaviour and threat detection and event forecasting.

Here are noteworthy companies endeavouring to fight against cyber crimes.

DARKTRACE

Darktrace applies artificial intelligence to enhance cybersecurity across digital spaces such as IoT, business control systems, cloud and Virtualized Network Services. Its algorithms detect insider threats and external attacks in real-time.  

Total Investment Raised : $230.5M Notable Investors: Samsung Ventures, Softbank, Hoxton Ventures, KKR, Insight Venture Partners

CYLANCE

Working at the endpoint where most attacks occur, the Cylance AI platform predicts and prevents attacks before the attackers execute damages faster and with less disruption. Cylance is bought by Blackberry in 2019.

Total Investment Raised : $290.7M

SYSDIG

Sysdig offers unified could-native visibility and security solutions providing a microservices-friendly platform. Its container security app brings together container image scanning, compliance and forensics to block attacks. Its container monitoring app enhances software reliability with built-in Prometheus monitoring, Kubernetes integration and container troubleshooting.

Total Investment Raised : $121.5M