Cyberhive Ltd Public Funding

As a technologically innovative company we continually develop novel solutions to cloud problems. However we are weak at identifying the potential IP value in these ideas as in many instances, the solutions seem 'obvious' to us. We need an external expert to help identify the potential and to guide us through the initial patent process and subsequent protection.

100 Percent IT will develop a project demonstrator and supporting framework of development tools to help digital computing infrastructure to become more resistant to attack both in the UK and beyond. The solution, a hardware-enforced MeshVPN based on Arm's Morello prototype architecture, could radically change the way we design and program processors in future, to enable better built-in security. 100 Percent IT will also develop innovative new methods to secure the data being transmitted by applying layered encryption resistant to attack by quantum computers that is thus more resilient to near-term and future cyber-threats - making it harder to attack and infiltrate network infrastructure or endpoints and remotely take control or extract sensitive information. The project also aims to deliver a framework to allow other developers to use the Rust programming language to develop applications on the Morello platform, providing the combined benefits of hardware security in parallel to the security benefits inherent in the Rust programming language. The adoption of this secure MeshVPN technology also provides performance and usability benefits for numerous applications in public and private sector organisations, along with use-cases for IoT and industrial applications, e.g. protecting critical infrastructure, connected medical devices, and other applications where the low-latency network performance and resilience in conjunction with security is a key factor.

Covid-19 has resulted in a rapid, unplanned adoption of remote working. Organisations have struggled to adapt as there currently is no easy way to remotely configure the high security needed and a lack of suitable IT hardware in the right place. Many solutions exist to facilitate remote working. Some remote working solutions are simple to set up and use, such as Go To My PC or similar, however these systems do not offer the level of security required to access sensitive data. More secure systems exist using VPNs and similar technologies, however these are complex to set up and require administrators to access the end user devices. Our proposal creates a remote access technology that offers the highest level of security, while also allowing the service to be simply set up and remotely administered. For example, we supply central government departments with secure IT systems which allow secure remote working but currently we need physical access to their devices for initial onboarding. This delays deployments and creates logistical issues. Our plan is to build upon our patented Trusted Cloud provably secure technology to develop a software defined, hardware enclave enforced mesh VPN that is quick to deploy and simple to manage. It will be easily administered built upon a lightweight mesh VPN using the proven WireGuard protocol combining the benefits of central VPN management with distributed key storage to create a zero trust networking system with secure local generation and storage for keys allowing rapid deployment of both BYOD and corporate devices. The VPN will be deployed as a simple app downloaded from regular App stores. This will enable remote administration of a secure VPN solution to dramatically speed up the delivery of a secure remote access solution and open the technology up to others who need secure remote working. For example, it would enable GPs to use their personal BYOD laptops, connect securely to their work computer and securely access patient data from a remote location without the need for complex central installations.

To develop Trusted Computing to allow users to cryptographically verify the security of virtual machine instances in public computing clouds.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

To integrate trusted computing technology into public cloud computing infrastructure to provide public cloud services with verifiable security, privacy and trust to develop enhanced product lines.