A company based in Northern Ireland which provides complex cyber security solutions for autonomous and remote vehicles and aircraft has launched a collaborative research programme with Queen’s University’s Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT).
Belfast based ANGOKA says the opportunity to work with CSIT’s team on AI development means its products will be further enhanced for use in commercial and public sector arenas.
Head of ANGOKA’s security products Robert McCausland says: “ANGOKA is delighted to be one of the companies in the Cyber-AI Hub, enabling our designers and engineers to collaborate with CSIT researchers and engineers. The hub is funded by the UK Government through the New Deal for Northern Ireland. The funding is delivered on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology by Innovate UK.
“Our products are currently being tested at various sites across the UK including in programmes aimed at introducing large-scale, multimodal transport vehicles and craft. Effectively, our job is to ensure that these systems have trusted and resilient communications that protect them from cyber threats,” Says Mr McCausland.
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ANGOKA’s project with CSIT will run until March 2026. Professor Paul Miller, Director of CSIT’s Cyber-AI Hub says the collaboration signals greater than ever recognition of the levels of expertise in cyber security available in Northern Ireland.
Professor Miller added: “This partnership with CSIT’s Cyber-AI Hub and ANGOKA reflects the strength of cyber innovation emerging from Northern Ireland. By combining our expertise in cyber security, AI and machine learning with ANGOKA’s advanced cyber solutions, we aim to create cutting-edge protections for autonomous and connected systems. This collaboration will not only strengthen our collective R&D capabilities but also position us at the forefront of cyber resilience for the next generation of transport and communication technologies.”
“It will help us leverage AI to improve the way we decide on which characteristics of a physical device should contribute to the creation of its DNA, giving us the highest possible level of security for that device,” says Mr McCausland. “The two work streams will see us further develop our DNA generation algorithms, with the CSIT team exploring the AI/ML (machine learning) elements and both teams coming together to build a demonstrator.”
“The demonstrator of the new capability will be incorporated into our core product,” Mr McCausland explains.
“The success of that demonstrator will rely on ANGOKA successfully building some enhancements to our current capability, which will then be further improved by the AI/ML capability that CSIT is researching.”
“The collaboration with CSIT will help us accelerate towards greater security products which will be essential to next generation transportation within our society in the coming decades,” says Mr McCausland.
