Four ambitious SMEs secure place on inaugural IoT programme
The winners of CENSIS’s IoT cyber security accelerator programme have been announced.
Each of the companies – PolyDigi Tech, Lupovis, Craft Prospect and Beringar – receive a bespoke package of support to create new IoT focused cyber security products and services, including up to 10 days’ engineering assistance and business development guidance.
An overall winner of the programme – supported by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government, and launched in November 2019 at its sixth annual Technology Summit – will also be a direct entrant to the semi-finals of the Scottish EDGE awards, in which innovative high-growth businesses can win up to £150,000 of funding.
- Proptech start-up Beringar will use the initiative to develop a secure device-to-cloud IoT platform for real-time monitoring of use patterns, workplace performance, and real-time analysis of Covid-19 risks in commercial offices.
- Edinburgh-based fintech company PolyDigi Tech will create software that provides reassurance of data ownership and control of IoT devices.
- Lupovis, a spin-out from the University of Strathclyde, is creating a digital decoy-rich engagement environment that diverts and traps hackers after breaching an IoT system, without alerting them they have been identified.
- Space engineering company Craft Prospect is looking to create a safe way of exchanging cryptographic keys between IoT systems and the cloud, enabling secure communications channels to be set-up.
Cade Wells, CENSIS Business Development Manager and cyber security lead said: “There was a great deal of interest in our first IoT Cyber Security Accelerator programme, which is testament to the strength and depth of Scotland’s IoT and cyber security communities. The companies that have been selected are working on some highly innovative products and services, which could make a significant difference to security in their respective fields. It is particularly encouraging that all the finalists work in very different areas – from space engineering to property management – and we look forward to supporting them in the next stage of their development.”