𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A Belfast-based tech company has announced a near £2 million investment in creating cybersecurity software for the manufacturing sector.

The move by ANGOKA is aimed at combating the threat of cyber attacks on digitised factory production lines.

The company’s Cosmic (Cybersecurity for Operational Systems in Manufacturing and Industrial Control) initiative will see it partnering with Queen’s University’s Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC).

The link-up has received around £1 million in grant aid financial support from Invest NI.

Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald attended the announcement of the £1.8 million investment on Monday.

“This investment by ANGOKA will help increase productivity, create good jobs and boost innovation across two of our priority sectors – cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing,” she said.

“It is the result of collaboration between government, academia and the private sector. And it has been enabled by the city and growth deal which established the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre. So, today’s announcement is a great example of our economic strategy paying dividends.”

ANGOKA chairman Steve Berry said: “With cyber threats growing in both scale and sophistication, demand for solutions that protect online devices has surged across the globe.

“Cosmic is a reaction to the growing need for cybersecurity adoption in the advanced manufacturing sector due to the detrimental impact any breaches could have on the operational resilience of manufacturing facilities.

“Our new solution will allow us to expand our core offering and achieve ambitious growth targets. It will be designed for ease of deployment both on existing and new manufacturing equipment. This seamless deployment will be a key enabler for breaking into new markets across the globe.”

Over the next two years, AMIC will support the development of the software through product testing, identification of target customers for commercial deployments and acting as a point of contact with industry groups.