The European Data Protection Day is celebrated for over 10 years on 28 January. Among the companies that have received EIC funding, several focus on handling data, from its protection to anomaly detection, and innovative means of storage. If you’d like to know more about how data is being innovatively treated in Europe, continue reading!
Streem.ai: an AI assistant that detects data anomalies
Protecting our data can mean not only to keep it safe from intruders, but also to make sure there are no anomalies that can lead to unwanted behaviours in defined processes. With this idea in mind, EIC-funded company Streem.ai has created an artificial intelligence (AI) anomaly detection tool for large volumes of time series data in real time.
Streem.ai’s technology identifies outliers and unusual behaviour using algorithms that are selected through a proprietary benchmarking algorithm that is continuously being improved. As a result, users can benefit from an up to 85% reduction in time spent on data analysis, analysis of 100% of the available data and improved detection rate of previously unknown anomalies. This innovation is extremely useful in industries such as the automotive one, where anomalies that go undetected can result in defective components going unnoticed until after market launch.
Currently, the company is deploying its solution in the industries of automotive, manufacturing, health technology and connected devices. Faulty components and inconsistencies between manufactured parts are assessed and detected, so they are prevented from arriving at the final production phases. When it comes to connected devices, Streem.ai’s innovation is useful to detect compromised devices. And in the health sector, this technology detects irregular diagnostics providing a higher quality care for the patients.
BioSistemika: using DNA for data storage
BioSistemika is a Slovenian company that offers digital solutions to laboratories, namely by building high quality software and supporting on digital transformation. During their path, BioSistemika realised that there is an increasing gap between how rapidly data production is growing and the storage capacity available globally. It’s predicted that we will not be able to store more than 20% of produced data by 2025, a scenario which poses a serious risk to our entire digital ecosystems and digital safety.
In order to solve this pressing issue, BioSistemika is working on the DATANA project, funded by the EIC. DATANA is a cutting-edge, patent-pending technology that enables a paradigm shift by utilising DNA as an abundant, sustainable, and stable solution for the storage of data. DNA has a lifespan of 1000+ years and the capacity to hold 20 million times more data per gram of substance than any other existing storage technology, presenting a very efficient alternative that is also eco-friendly.
Currently, this technology is in prototype stage, and BioSistemika has already carried out a case study with early adopters in the market. According to their CEO Roswita Golčer Hratnik, this novelty solution can work well in different data’s market areas: “Data archiving, data protection, disaster recovery, digital asset custody, and others. We identified many common pain points, namely data storage capacity and cybersecurity, that DNA can help address with its superior data storage properties.”.
Going into more detail, Dr. Tomaž Karčnik, DATANA’s project manager, explained how their technology can effectively secure data: “Usually, the human factor is the weakest link in the data protection chain. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to data protection, though DNA data storage comes close to it, because, in this case, the human factor is taken completely out of the picture. DNA data storage offers the best of both worlds. It builds upon mature technologies and adds a unique twist by introducing new, evolution perfected foundations to make data much safer.”.
Illusive: eliminating identity vulnerabilities for maximum protection
Cyber protection is a constant concern for companies aiming to secure their businesses from cyber-attacks, that can considerably damage their reputation, security and finances. With a technology specialised in identity risk management, Illusive, EIC-funded company, presents an innovative product that enables an early and effective detection of attackers.
Illusive’s innovation is capable of stopping lateral movement, and empowering rapid triage through risk-awareness and real-time attack intelligence. At the same time, this technology intends to be scalable, easy to operate and invisible to attackers.
The company specialises in eliminating identity vulnerabilities, that are identified as the first entry vector for potential attacks. Intrusive entities try to access privileged identities within organisations to achieve their malicious intentions. This is where Illusive comes in with a powerful solution that continuously works to discover and automatically mitigate exploitable identity vulnerabilities.
Proving the company’s worth, in December 2022 Illusive has signed a Definitive Agreement to be acquired by Proofpoint Inc., a leading cybersecurity and compliance company from the USA. Ofer Israeli, founder & CEO of Illusive, has showed enthusiasm about this next chapter for the company: “We are thrilled to join Proofpoint and add our unique approach to ITDR to its people-centric security vision, helping organisations remediate privileged identity risks and understand potential ramifications of compromise, such as access to critical data and intellectual property.”.
