Cybersecurity

Sectors

Northern Ireland is the #1 international investment location for US cybersecurity development projects. It is now home to an impressive cluster of international companies, world renowned university research and innovative start-ups delivering global cyber security solutions.

Companies in Northern Ireland have built upon expertise in advanced persistent threats to national security, critical infrastructure networks, capital markets and web applications.

Virtual Visit - Cybersecurity Sector

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services.

    • The Company was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

    • The company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington State.

    • The Company is publicly owned - NASDAQ: MSFT.

    • The Company has circa 150,000 employees (2019).

On 28th January, 2020, Microsoft announced that Belfast was to be the location for a new Cyber Security Centre which will see the creation of up to 85 new jobs.

The Company currently employs 50 staff in Belfast.

Key People:

Belfast office - 11 Queens Rd, Belfast BT3 9AD

Website - www.microsoft.com

CSIT

The Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), Queen’s University Belfast, is the UK’s Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) for cyber security, and the UK’s largest cyber security focused university technology research, development and innovation centre.

The theme of CSIT’s research roadmap is securing our digital tomorrow. CSIT will continue to lead on the new technologies needed for the seamless integration of electronic security into future Smart Cities and Internet of Things (IoT), including:

    • quantum-safe cryptographic architectures;

    • malware detection methods that can counteract advanced evasion technologies;

    • securing highly distributed networks for critical infrastructures; and

    • AI-enabled security analytics to provide to real-time threat indicators

CSIT brings a unique approach to academic engagement and delivering impact with industry in the UK and further afield. An Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) of companies and strategic government partners plays a key role in defining the research challenges undertaken by CSIT, whilst a team of industrially experienced engineers help accelerate innovation to market. This creates collaborative opportunities for researchers to work with start-ups, scale-ups and large corporations and on solving societal challenges.

CSIT’s MSc in Applied Cyber Security is fully certified by NCSC.

Key people:

    • Director - Prof. Máire O'Neill

Address - Northern Ireland Science Park, Queen's Road, Queen's Island, Belfast, BT3 9DT

Website - www.qub.ac.uk/ecit/CSIT

Blackduck

Synopsys is an American electronic design automation company that focuses on silicon design and verification, silicon intellectual property and software security and quality.

    • The Company was founded by Aart J de Geus and David Gregory in 1986.

    • The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

    • The Company is publicly owned - NASDAQ: SNPS.

    • The Company has circa 13,000 employees (2018).

In early 2018, Synopsys acquired Burlington and Belfast based Blackduck Software. On 19th October 2018, Blackduck announced the creation of a new open source security research group, based in Belfast creating 58 jobs.

The Company currently employs 45 staff in Belfast.

Key People:

Belfast office - Floor 4, Link Building Adelaide Exchange 24-26 Adelaide Street Belfast BT2 8GD

Website - www.synopsys.com

Anomali

Anomali delivers earlier detection and identification of adversaries in a network by making it possible to correlate tens of millions of threat indicators against real time network activity logs and up to a year or more of forensic log data.

    • The Company was founded in 2013 by Colby DeRodeff and Greg Martin.

    • The company is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

    • The Company is privately owned and has raised a total of $96.3M in funding over 6 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jan 17, 2018 from a Series D round.

The Company has circa 300 employees (2020).

On 18th May 2017, Anomali announced the opening of its European Research and Development Labs in Belfast, creating 120 Jobs.

The Company currently employs 100 staff in Belfast.

Key People:

Belfast office - State Buildings, 2 Arthur Place, Belfast, BT1 4HG.

Website - www.anomali.com

Imperva

Imperva is a cyber security software and services company which provides protection to enterprise data and application software.

    • The company was founded in 2002 by Shlomo Kramer, Amichai Shulman and Mickey Boodae.

    • The company is headquartered in Redwood Shores, California.

    • The company is owned by Thoma Bravo.

    • The company has circa 1,000 employees (January 2020).

On 4th December 2019, Imperva announced the establishment of a 220 technology centre in Belfast, creating 220 Jobs.

The Company currently employs 75 staff in Belfast.

Key People:

Belfast office - 4th Floor, Arthur Place, 24-26 Arthur Street Belfast BT1 4GF

Website - www.imperva.com

Rapid7

Rapid7 is a provider of security data and analytics solutions.

    • The Company was founded in 2000 by Alan Matthews, Chad Loder, Tas Giakouminakis.

    • The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

    • The Company is publicly owned - NASDAQ: RPD

    • The Company has circa 1,700 employees ( 2020)

On 7th October, 2014, Rapid7 announced the creation of of a development centre in Belfast, creating 75 Jobs.

The Company currently employs 150 staff and has recently announced plans to expand by a further 200.

Key People:

Belfast office - Arnott House, 12-16 Bridge Street, Belfast, BT1 1LU

Website - www.rapid7.com

Proofpoint

Proofpoint is an enterprise security company that provides software as a service and products for inbound email security, outbound data loss prevention, social media, mobile devices, digital risk, email encryption, electronic discovery ("eDiscovery"), and email archiving.

    • The Company was founded in 2002.

    • The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

    • The Company is publicly owned - NASDAQ: PFPT

    • The Company has circa 2,600 employees ( 2018)

On 18th August, 2014, Proofpoint announced the expansion of its Belfast operations, creating 94 Jobs. The Company had previously acquired the Belfast based start-up MailDistiller, which was Northern Ireland's first Cybersecurity business, having spun-out of BT in 2005.

The Company currently employs 130 staff in Belfast.

Key People:

Belfast office - Cyber House, Unit 11 Weavers Court Business Park

Linfield Road, Belfast, BT12 5GH

Website - www.proofpoint.com

Contrast Security

Contrast Security is a provider of security technology that enables software applications to protect themselves against cyber attacks, heralding a new era of self-protecting software. More accurate and effective than outdated legacy security measures, Contrast Security is a completely new approach to application security – the world's first comprehensive platform for protecting enterprise applications from within.

    • The Company was founded in 2014 by Arshan Dabirsiaghi, Jeff Williams.

    • The company is headquartered in Los Altos, California.

    • The Company is privately owned and has raised a total of $119M in funding over 4 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Feb 28, 2019 from a Series D round.

    • The Company has circa 300 employees (2020)

On 24th September 2019, Contrast Security announced the creation of a new development and delivery centre in Belfast, creating 120 jobs.

The Company currently employs 25 staff in Belfast.

Key People:

Belfast office - River House, 48-60 High Street, Belfast BT1 2BE

Website - www.contrastsecurity.com


Cybersecurity in Northern Ireland


Cost Model - 100 Person Cybersecurity Software Development Centre