Global damages from cyber-crime are anticipated to cost upwards of $6 trillion this year as ransomware and other forms of attacks increase.
In 2020, digital bandits made off with $3 trillion as global industry pivoted to a remote working model due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, increasing the reliance on digital networks.
The government, education, services, healthcare, and technology spaces were the top five sectors targeted by cyber-crime, with each data breach costing roughly $4 million.
Additionally, it is estimated that a ransomware attack will occur every 11 seconds this year making every organization vulnerable.
Working to protect sensitive data by offering customers enhanced and unique authentication tools is SoLVBL Solutions Inc, a Toronto-based cybersecurity firm. The company’s proprietary product, Q by SoLVBL, is an innovative, data authentication protocol, featuring advanced cryptography for greater data authenticity/integrity protection against data substitution or corruption and man-in-the-middle attacks.
READ: Empower Clinics and SoLVBL Solutions pen deal for data security program
The initial groundwork for Q by SoLVBL was born out of a desire to increase the efficiency of blockchain transactions, company CEO Raymond Pomroy explained to Proactive in an interview.
“What we found, as many people have, is that blockchains are slow and cumbersome with high latency, if you try and buy Bitcoin, and it's busy, it might take you 28 minutes to actually conclude the transaction, in the real world, that's not very practical for a lot of applications,” explained Pomroy.
From that mission the company’s flagship product evolved. As the business world increasingly becomes digital, Q by SoLVB provides cryptographic data authentication.
As Pomroy described, in the traditional world it would be easy to catch a cheque forger by differentiating signature nuance, ink, and paper types and so on, but this becomes virtually impossible in the cyber realm.
“In the digital world it's just ones and zeros and one set of ones and zeros, looks just like another set of ones and zeros, so you can't tell whether someone has committed fraud,” said the SoLVBL Solutions CEO. “And that's really the problem that we're addressing.”
Without divulging proprietary information, Pomroy explained how Q by SoLVBL could be used by an organization wanting to safeguard its data.
“If you have data that you think is worth forging, you can interrelate with us and you end up with a bit of metadata that gets attached to your data sort of like a fingerprint, which goes on the data, and then travels forever with that data,” he explained. “Before you use the data, you can verify that it has not been altered since the time that was created.”
DEEP DIVE: SoLVBL Solutions offers real world protection for digital data
Unlike the vast majority of security systems that seek to keep hackers out with walls and protocols, Q by SoLVB offers a unique layer of protection for data.
“We take a totally different view. Yes, you should try and keep hackers out; But the reality is you can’t, they get in, just think of the number of ransomware attacks this year that have gone on,” said Pomroy.
He continued: “When you create data, use our system, stamp it, get a little bit of metadata on it. Then whenever you come to use that data, you just authenticate it before you use it. If the stamp doesn't register with the data, don't use the data.”
The straightforward data authentication system can be utilized in the healthcare, education, government, services, and any other sector where valuable data is created, stored, and shared.
Additionally, Pomroy noted that the company remains data-agnostic by never seeing the data customers want to protect.
Marking major milestones
In early September, SoLVBL reported the completion of independent validations of its flagship cryptographic cybersecurity product. The independent testing was conducted by Sonam Devgan Kaul, Ph.D., an independent cryptography expert based in Toronto.
According to SoLVBL, the thorough vetting process confirms the system is existentially unforgeable and marks a major milestone for the data protection firm.
“Over the last three months, we hired an independent cryptographer from UofT (University of Toronto), And we gave her free run over our Q by SoLVBL,” said CEO Pomroy.
He added; “She's literally taken it to pieces, and mathematically, it has shown that everything that we assert, everything that we say Q can do, she can prove mathematically. So now we have an independent person who says yes, this works. So that is really, really powerful for us.”
A few weeks later the company received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), regarding its US Patent Application No: 16/745,664. The patent relates to Q by SoLVBL’s use as a method and system for authentication seal development in immutable transactions.
The notice of allowance is a precursor to a full patent and indicates the USPTO will likely issue the patent after certain formal steps have been completed.
September proved to be a busy period for SoLVBL.
Following Kaul’s cryptographic confirmation regarding the identity, integrity, completeness, portability, attribution and confidentiality of the product, the company penned a memorandum of understanding with Empower Clinics Inc, an integrated healthcare company.
Last year there were 599 reported cyber-attacks involving patient records in the US, a 55% increase from the previous year. The healthcare sector is the fourth most targeted business segment in terms of ransomware attacks, following government, education, and services.
The deal with Empower will see SoLVBL develop a cyber security program to detect cyber-attacks for the healthcare provider.
Moving forward, SoLVBL plans to initiate trials for Q in a variety of sectors, including finance and public works.
“Just think of how many ransomware attacks have occurred this year,” concluded Pomroy, “What that tells you is the hackers are already in your system. So, if you think you can keep them out, you can't.”
Contact the writer at georgia@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @MissInformd