Anti-cybercrime software mimics DNA matching process

Inquisitive Systems, which spun-out of Edinburgh Napier University, has attracted the funding from private investors as well as a SMART:Scotland award and Seed funding package, both from Scottish Enterprise.

Dr Jamie Graves, chief executive and co-founder of Inquisitive Systems, said the software, dubbed GuardInQ, differs to other anti-cybercrime technology because it continuously, rather than intermittently, monitors the activity of secure computer network systems.

‘Up until now that has been really hard to do because that produces an awful lot of data and if you try to do it in the way our competitors do, it would be drinking from the fire hose,’ he said.

Inquisitive Systems’ biologically inspired software digitally mimics the DNA matching process used in the real world. The software tracks the sequence of events that follow a hacker’s first access request into a secure network system and creates a ‘digital fingerprint’.

Graves said the fingerprint can be traced back to the cybercriminal. Within seconds the hacker can be blocked from attaining further access to the system, he said, and the GuardInQ analysis program will determine whether private information has been compromised or malicious software has been uploaded.