Orpheus Cyber: using machine learning to combat cyber threats

Many commercial and public sector organisations have experienced increased cyberattacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and healthcare centres in particular have been under extra pressure to keep their patients and systems safe from hacking and ransomware attacks.

In 2020, London-based Orpheus Cyber was awarded an innovation continuity loan from Innovate UK to enable them to develop existing capabilities into a full-spectrum cyber risk management platform.

Their aim was to transform the way organisations are able to proactively stop cyberattacks before they happen and to mitigate the increased cyber risks associated with COVID-19.

CEO Oliver Church said:

We were delighted to be awarded the innovation continuity loan to support our advanced research in this area.

We’re seeing cyber risks increase as hackers try to exploit remote working which makes our ability to predict threats even more important.

The platform turns data into actionable insights. Subscribers can log on to get a snapshot of the type of threats their organisation is facing plus there’s a vulnerability scan which shows them the priority areas they need to address.

Previous funding by Innovate UK enabled Orpheus to develop machine learning and natural language processing capabilities focused on cyber risk management.

Oliver added:

We’ve done a lot of work with the NHS to improve their security. Cyberattacks on hospitals put
patients’ lives at risk so security in healthcare is a very important issue right now.

Combining our threat intelligence service with machine learning means that organisations can now benchmark their scores against others to see how well they’re doing.

Offering this ‘software as a service’ means that we don’t need to physically go into a company or even use their systems. The advantage of this is that we can then apply it to any third parties they work with such as their supply chains.

Orpheus is the only UK-government accredited cyber threat intelligence company providing threat intelligence and cyber risk rating services. The company is one of only seven companies selected by the Financial Conduct Authority and only one of six appointed by the Bank of England.

The market for cyber security products is already large and fast-growing, which will continue post-COVID-19 as organisations manage the risks associated with online delivery models.

“The innovation continuity loan has also enabled Orpheus Cyber to create new jobs with the company increasing in size by 20% over the last year.”

About Innovation Loans

Innovate UK is offering up to £25 million in loans to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Innovation Loans are on offer to highly innovative late-stage research and development projects with the best potential for the future.

Each project that receives funding has clear routes to commercialisation and economic impact, leading to new products, processes or services with a particular focus on supporting and delivering future economy areas included in the Innovate UK plan for action.