UK-based cyber intelligence company Snode was introduced to South Africa this week.
The company was started by three South Africans: Nithen Naidoo, CIO at Snode and brothers Nadir and Shaazim Khamissa, who are co-founders of the telecommunications company Hello Group.
Nadir is an actuary and is a former MD of global equity derivatives trading at Deutsche Bank, based in London. Shaazim is the chief technology officer at Hello Group.
Snode uses utilises advanced mathematical algorithms, the processing power of learning machines, and predictive analytics to provide real-time intelligence to business.
The company's technology also uses intelligence amplification, whereby the power of machine learning is augmented with a trained individual's insight.
According to Naidoo, intelligence amplification should not be confused with artificial intelligence which aspires to replace human involvement altogether.
"Snode's application in cyber security leverages years of expertise in cyber intelligence and mathematics," he said.
The company's technology does not replace traditional signature-based solutions, but is complementary, Naidoo pointed out.
Snode believes it will provide a much-needed service in SA, especially as the vulnerability to cyber attacks is increasing as businesses are rapidly digitising.
Cyber criminals are now, more than ever, turning their attention to emerging markets which they perceive to be easy, yet lucrative, targets, said Naidoo.
Within emerging markets, it is the banking sector that is particularly vulnerable, as evidenced by the recent slate of SWIFT attacks. C-suite executives are also targeted, Naidoo explained.
Exacerbating matters is that cyber attacks frequently come from advanced and highly motivated crime syndicates that are dispersed globally, he continued.
According to Naidoo a lot of cyber security breaches are not reported, particularly cyber espionage, and this is mostly due to companies not being aware of the breach.
"We are no longer dealing with kids in the bedroom, but organised crime - government-led attacks, corporate espionage, and hacktivism and so on - and SA is not immune."
Naidoo noted that a more intelligent line of defence is urgently required, as traditional end-point and signature-based technologies are inefficient in dealing with the rapidly evolving threat landscape.
The digital age brings with it incomprehensible amounts of data and the challenge is how to best use it, and glean value from it without wasting resources, he said.
"Traditional signature-based protocols look at data in isolation. Threat intelligence helps but is retroactive, signature-based protocols are reactive, Snode is proactive."
Naidoo said companies need more than a firewall. "A firewall is often unable to differentiate between a malicious login attempt and a real one, Snode provides that framework."
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