Security experts launch IT risk assessment software at world's biggest tech show
Researchers from the University of Southampton have unveiled a web-based solution for IT security compliance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020.
SPYDERISK, a spinout company from Southampton's IT Innovation Centre, launched its software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering today as part of the only UK university exhibit at the world-renowned technology showcase in Las Vegas.
The founders are connecting with early adopters this week on the University's Future Worlds accelerator stand in Eureka Park.
With the average cost of a data breach in the US at USD8m in 2019, the danger of cyber-attacks is increasingly driving companies to obtain compliance certification such as SOC-2 and ISO 27001 and also demand them from their supply chain.
In contrast to other solutions, SPYDERISK automates much of the risk assessment process mandated by SOC-2 and ISO 27001: finding all the threats in a system by following the web of attack paths and considering how one threat can lead to another.
The software calculates risk based on the threat likelihood and business impact, and proposes mitigations drawn from a detailed knowledgebase before generating the reports needed for compliance certification.
Dr Stephen Phillips, Southampton Principal Research Engineer and SPYDERISK founder, says: “This ground-breaking product is a game-changer for enterprises, dramatically reducing the time and cost to understand and manage security threats, to ensure better protection and compliance certification.”
Professor Mike Surridge, Head of Research, says: “I am delighted that seven years of detailed research on modelling risk has produced such a valuable commercial product, and in doing so provides an important defence against the prevalent threats to IT security that face the world today.”
CES 2020 will include over 4,500 exhibiting companies and attract more than 180,000 attendees wanting to see the next generation of consumer technologies.
Graham Stuart MP, Minister for Investment, says: “We are facing increasing global cybersecurity threats and SPYDERISK’s solutions highlight the strength of the UK cyber sector and our world-leading university research. The Department for International Trade is proud to support British innovators as they launch at CES to achieve global impact and change the world with their ideas.”
University startups Radii Devices, a cloud-based design assistant for prosthetists, and Aquark Technologies, which develops miniaturised components for quantum technology, are also exhibiting with Future Worlds at CES 2020.
Ben Clark, Future Worlds Director, says: “The Future Worlds stand at CES proudly puts UK university innovation on the world stage. Our students and academics are turning world-leading research into products that change the world. Exhibiting at CES has helped startups and spinouts from the University of Southampton gain hundreds of commercial leads and secure millions of pounds of investment, and we’re excited to see these latest innovations make global impact in 2020.”
Future Worlds is based in Booths 51733 and 51735 in Eureka Park at the Sands Expo. You can follow daily updates from SPYDERISK and other University entrepreneurs on the Future Worlds website.