82. RazorSecure

Founders: Alex Cowan and Colin Cragg
Founded: December 2014 (Founded May 2017)
Website: www.razorsecure.com

Minutes not months. That’s how much faster cyber security firm RazorSecure can detect a breach compared to the industry average.

Alex Cowan had experienced cyber security issues first-hand throughout his 15 years working in the gaming industry, finding that it took an average of six months to detect a breach while false positives were measured in thousands of alerts per minute.

He wanted to take a different approach to cyber security: focusing on “what is normal” and treating each system as an individual as opposed to focusing on networks and training for attacks.

In 2014, Cowan joined with Colin Crag to put this approach into action with RazorSecure.

Launched in May 2017, RazorSecure partners with system suppliers and transport builders, integrating into their solutions to provide first line customer support.

One such partnership is Icomera, which provides connectivity to thousands of trains and tens of thousands of buses including operators in the UK such as South Western Railway, Greater Anglia, and Arriva Northern. It also works with VT Miltoper, a supplier of wireless access points to the aviation industry.

With the EU bringing in a new set of cyber security regulations for operators of infrastructure such as rail, aviation and roads (mandating just the kind of security monitoring and anomaly detection that RazorSecure provides), the next 12 months will be vital for future growth.

Beyond that, the start-up has plans to secure all of the new European trains over the next five years and “make significant inroads” into inflight entertainment. RazorSecure also sees major opportunities for its software in communications and smart cities as well.

In the ongoing arms race against the cyber criminals, RazorSecure’s unique and innovative solution is streets ahead of its competition in helping clients protect their data.