In the week which celebrated Safer Internet Day, we’ve rounded up a selection of Northern cybersecurity firms which are focussed on protecting businesses and their customers from a range of attacks.
It’s a crucial area of businesses which, while second-nature to digital-first firms, is a new domain for those making their first transition to online during lockdown.
While no business is willing to shout about their latest attack, it’s unlikely any company can go unscathed forever.
According to research from Hiscox, one cybersecurity attack successfully hits a small UK business every 19 seconds. While a shocking figure, even this does not take into account attacks on reputation which have become increasingly common on social media and business review sites.
From across the North East, North West, and Yorkshire here are five firms helping to keep business safe online.
Netacea – Manchester
Manchester-based Intechnica Group’s cybersecurity operation Netacea is built to tackle bot-based attacks.
These bots, which are designed to act like human users, are created to take over legitimate accounts, create fake accounts, skew marketing analytics and scrape product prices.
The problem is so large that estimates suggest between 20% and 50% of all internet traffic is bot-based. The company’s ‘bot management’ offering uses machine learning to better detect which users are legitimate, and block those that are not.
Founded in 2017, the firm’s clients now include Sony, ClearScore, William Hill and AO.
RapidSpike – Leeds
Founded in 2015 by Andrew Mason and Robin Hill, Leeds-based RapidSpike is both a cybersecurity and website performance firm with a focus on eCommerce.
Its platform alerts website owners of customer-focused cyberattacks, providing alerts on downtime and errors, protection against attempted data breaches and real-time updates on performance.
Last year the company secured a £1m investment to scale its platform and expand its client base, which include US retail giant Helen of Troy alongside William Hill, Kurt Geiger as well as local firms Jaywing and Prolific Partner Enjoy Digital.
CEO Gav Winter joined the company in 2018 and was featured last month on Prolific North’s ‘My Startup’ feature.
Logically – Brighouse
Headquartered in West Yorkshire with offices in London and India, Logically was founded in 2017 by Lyric Jain, a graduate of both Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Inspired by the public debate about Brexit and the 2016 US elections, the company was established to fight fake news with a combination of AI and human fact-checking.
Its services are used by suppliers of products and services to consumers, businesses and the public sector.
Last year the company raised £2.5m ahead of the US election, securing contracts with public sector and social media platforms to report on fake news.
Crisp Thinking – Leeds
Founded in 2005 by serial entrepreneur Adam Hildreth, Leeds-based Crisp Thinking, also known as Crisp, scans the open, deep, dark social web and messaging apps for potential activist attacks, hate speech, threats, fake news, false rumours and illegal content.
Now with offices in Chicago and London alongside its Yorkshire headquarters, it has secured clients including Sony Online Entertainment, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, the LEGO Group, and Cartoon Network.
In 2018 the firm secured a $25m investment to develop its AI-based social media risk detection platform and expand its sales and marketing operations globally, in particular in the US, where the majority of its customers are based.
Security Risk Management Ltd – Newcastle
Founded in 2002 and based at Newcastle International Airport, Security Risk Management Ltd (SRM) was established by security professionals from the private sector, the Police Service, Armed Forces and other government agencies.
The company specialises in information security, compliance management solutions such as GDPR, business continuity and operational risk.
Its clients include eCommerce giant Missguided, charity Marie Curie, and FinTech company Curve.
