Tag: ANGOKA

New Feasibility Study Launches to Shape the Future of Autonomous Vehicle Oversight

Funded by UK Government, Project NAVIGATES has commenced with an aim to explore centralised control centres to unlock safe and scalable deployment of autonomous vehicles in the UK. Project NAVIGATES is part of CCAV’s CAM Pathfinder Programme.

Project NAVIGATES (Networked Autonomous Vehicle Integration and Governance with Advanced Technology and Security) will assess the technical and commercial case for Regional Remote Service Operator Control Centres (RSOCCs), a critical enabler for the safe and cost-effective rollout of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) in applications such as public transport, logistics and emergency response. The project will be led by Belfast-based cybersecurity specialists ANGOKA, in partnership with low-emission transport experts Cenex.

The CAM Pathfinder Programme, as part of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy and the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, is delivered by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, a joint unit between the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Department for Transport (DfT) in partnership with Innovate UK and Zenzic.

Similar to air traffic control centres, a regional RSOCC would oversee fleets of driverless vehicles operating with No User in charge (NUiC). This centre would monitor multiple vehicles in real-time, intervene when necessary and help the public sector coordinate services across different regions and use cases. Project NAVIGATES is the first dedicated study in the UK to explore this model in detail.

In the following months, the project will:

  • Research, identify, document and validate the technical and user requirements for an RSOCC.
  • Conduct a detailed safety and threat assessment for related data transmission needed for monitoring and control.
  • Develop a high-level system design for control centres, detailing security and communications frameworks.
  • Undertake an outline business case for operations.
  • Identify partners and locations for a follow-up demonstration project.

Cenex will lead on stakeholder engagement and business case modelling, drawing on experience from previous projects such as the IUK Project RUBICON. ANGOKA will focus on technical analysis and security design, utilising their expertise in secure communications and remote operations in both CAV and drone environments. By engaging with potential end-users and the broader stakeholder community, Cenex will identify the requirements for the successful deployment of these centres. By combining expertise in low-carbon transport with advanced operational technologies, Cenex is contributing to the development of a smarter, cleaner future for mobility

Robert Evans, CEO of Cenex, stated: “We are pleased to partner with ANGOKA on this significant CCAV-funded feasibility study. The NAVIGATES project highlights the vital role that remote operational centres play in the safe and efficient deployment of autonomous vehicles. These centres are not only responsible for overseeing self-driving vehicle services but can also serve as the nerve centres of a new transport ecosystem, ensuring resilience, responsiveness, and public trust. We look forward to hosting a workshop for project NAVIGATES at Cenex Expo 2025.”

Steve Berry, Chairman at ANGOKA said: “This is a truly significant project helping advance the roll out of autonomous vehicles. With this study we will have the most up to date review of current and forthcoming legislation and how this would affect the widespread adoption of CAVs. We look forward to working on this project with Cenex to establish the most complete picture of what the perceived threats and requirements are to assure the cyber security when operating autonomous ‘driver on the loop’ systems.”

Mark Cracknell, Programme Director at Zenzic, said: “We are thrilled to announce the NAVIGATES project, spearheaded by ANGOKA and Cenex, as one of the fourteen exciting CAM Pathfinder Feasibility Studies taking place across the UK. The deployment of Connected and Automated Mobility solutions holds incredible promise – enhancing accessibility, reducing emissions, and fostering a transport network that is both reliable and inclusive. The NAVIGATES project seeks to address specific challenges that will be key to unlocking those benefits. We are looking forward to working with the project consortia as they further develop their business case and provide vital insight into the opportunities presented by the deployment of CAM solutions in regions throughout the UK.”

Belfast cybersecurity firm ANGOKA bound for space

Belfast-based cyber security firm ANGOKA has been accepted to the Airbus Space Accelerator programme. The accelerator is described by Airbus as “an exciting opportunity not only for existing space companies, but for any business with the desire and potential to work in space”.

Speaking at an event at Farnborough International Airshow, ANGOKA director Yuri Andersson said this is a chance for ANGOKA “to deepen its ties with the space industry, helping us to develop the next generation of cybersecurity solutions.”

Airbus says the accelerator is part of the wider Community for Space Prosperity (CUSP) initiative to develop the UK’s space ecosystem, where the 14-week programme will help startups, academics and non-traditional space businesses to advance their technical offering, understand the commercial space landscape and build connections within the wider space industry.

Airbus is running the accelerator with Plexal, the London-based innovation boutique which collaborates on technology with government, startups and industry.

Mr Andersson says there is rapid growing convergence between terrestrial and non-terrestrial communication networks for improved coverage and bandwidth.

“A new space economy is being built where in the near future there will be in-space infrastructure such as in-space assembly and manufacturing, orbital data centres and human habitats,” he added.

“Much of the data will be kept in space and processed in space, and to support the communications needs of the future space economy we need new solutions for cybersecurity and digital infrastructure. With emerging cyber threats from quantum computers and AI, traditional approaches such as those based on PKI [Public Key Infrastructure], or Distributed Ledgers are no longer adequate, and this requires a complete paradigm shift.” says Mr Andersson.

ANGOKA has also been selected to the Mandala Space Ventures and the Venture into Space programmes supported by UK Space Agency.

Drone sector hamstrung as regulators challenged with fast-evolving technology

Cyber security leader ANGOKA says that airspace regulators around the world face difficulties in keeping up with the rapidly changing pace of the drone industry.

Chief Technology Officer for ANGOKA and drone industry expert Shadi Razak says the development of safe air corridors and drone ports for use by emergency services and delivery firms has been accelerated by the latest developments in artificial intelligence, video and communications technologies.

“But regulators must work closer with drone technology providers to ensure frameworks are in place for the safe delivery of drone projects,” he says.

“We are currently in a Catch-22 situation. Such is the speed at which the sector is evolving, it is difficult to establish sound and future-proof regulations,” commented Mr Razak. “Yet without proper and effective regulation, our industry risks missing out on the tremendous benefits promised by drones.”

“We need policymakers to better understand the emerging risks for drone operation and their preventative solutions to those risks like cybersecurity to better understand the needs for safe and secure drone operations. Some of these solutions, like ANGOKA, are leading the field and guaranteeing the safe and accurate passage of drones to the last few centimetres of their journey by safeguarding the drone’s communication and identification throughout it journey”, says Mr Razak.

This was a key theme of the second UK & Ireland Drone Summit organised and sponsored by ANGOKA and supported by the UK Royal Air Force, Invest Northern Ireland and KPMG.

Whilst the summit highlighted that the industry is everchanging at a rapid pace, the speakers agreed on the need of the regulators to keep up with the pace in providing up-to-date guidance and policies to ensure the safety and cyber resilience of drone operations.

The conference heard from Julie Garland, CEO of Avtrain, an IAA Recognised Entity providing EASA Open & Specific Category Drone Pilot Training and Consultancy for Specific Category Operator Manuals and Risk Management Documentation for STS Declarations, PDRAs and SORA.

“We’re constantly working to keep the skies safe through the highest standards of training and certification and we need the support from regulators. We’re seeing wider adoption of varied drone use across different industries, particularly with the on-demand nature of our society now which plays into the desirability and acceptance of drones. But with societal acceptance comes regulator acceptance, and regulators need to work with drone operators and providers to ensure that relevant approvals in place so that we can serve societies in a timely and economic way.”

Both ANGOKA and Avtrain will be attending at The National Drone Summit and The Mobility Now Summit in RDS, Dublin between 1-2nd March.

Drone Summit shines light on Northern Ireland’s thriving cybersecurity industry

The UK and Ireland second Drone Summit has highlighted the great potential of drones in the economic growth of the UK and Ireland. 

The summit, organised and sponsored by ANGOKA, supported by the UK Royal Air Force, Invest Northern Ireland and KPMG, who hosted the summit at their Belfast offices, gathered industry leaders from across the UK and Ireland including senior representatives from the British Civil Aviation, the UK Research and Innovation (InnovateUK), AWS, Manna, Skyport, Spright, Avtrain and others discussing the rapid advances being made in the sector. 

The conference explored the economic benefits in the adoption of drone advancements, the role of rapid technology evolution in advancing drone capabilities and making its benefits a reality, the great and complex cybersecurity risks such advancement in technology brings to the drone industry as well as the regulatory and societal challenges the sector faces. 

Shadi Razak, chief technology officer at ANGOKA, says: “Drones are allowing us to achieve more than ever before and continue to provide opportunities to businesses and the local economy. Whilst use of drones is important, the risks of cyber is real, both commercially and physically.  

“The conference allowed us to discuss the benefits of wider adoption of drone usage, and how as an industry we can continue to make advancements. Northern Ireland in particular has really great opportunities for drone development with its thriving technological scene, as well as its links to the UK, Ireland and Europe.  

“We heard of instances of drones being used in vital services, such as the delivery of medication, which is not only of huge benefit to local communities, but also in economic growth. 

“However, as comes with this industry that is moving at a rapid pace, we must be mindful of the risk of cyber. There’s always a worry and a risk of drones being used recklessly or for malicious purposes, especially because it’s a relatively new technology in a new industry, and as we know, technology is always way ahead of regulations and frameworks that will govern and guide.” 

ANGOKA is in the business to ensure the safety and resilience of next-generation air mobility by safeguarding the identification and communication of drone flight and operation in free space or air corridors.  

Throughout the summit, the team at ANGOKA demonstrated to the audience that cybersecurity works both ways in the drone industry. Preventing hostile and unwanted drone activity on the one hand and protecting drones from interference by hackers and other unauthorised sources. The team demonstrated the takeover of a commercial drone, spoofing its video stream and bringing it to fall from the sky. 

Mr Razak concludes: “Drones will have a huge impact on us as a society, even for our own safety, and whilst use of drones is important, but the risks of cyber is real, both commercially and physically. It’s events like this that are so important to bring together thought leaders and innovators to discuss the benefits, and also the downfalls, that come with UAVs, and how as an industry we can work together to ensure both physical and digital security.” 

ANGOKA’s Drone Summit returns for a second year

Belfast based cybersecurity firm ANGOKA is to host its second UK & Ireland Drone Summit sponsored by KPMG and the Royal Air Force.

The summit will bring speakers from across Europe to discuss the evolution and revolution of drones, and the important role that cybersecurity plays in the accuracy and security of the communications between devices.

The conference, which will take place on November 20th in KPMG’s Belfast offices, will include a live security demonstration which will see a live hacking attempt to illustrate this landscape and how ANGOKA can mitigate for all eventualities using its secure communication technology.

Between keynote speakers and panel discussions, the summit will explore the cyber challenge for UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), technology drivers behind UAV advancements and the regulatory and social challenge for UAVs.

Highlighting the importance of events like this Shadi Razak, Chief Technology Officer at ANGOKA says: “We’re delighted that the UK & Ireland Drone Summit is returning. With the success of last year’s event, we saw the benefits to the industry in bringing great minds together to discuss how we can transform the regulatory, governance, security and safety challenges to opportunities that harness the good and mitigate the negative impact and foreseen risk of UAV technologies.

“Drones are allowing us to achieve more than ever before and continue to provide opportunities to businesses and the economy. Whilst use of drones is important, the risks of cyber is real, both commercially and physically.

“The conference is bringing together thought leaders and innovators to discuss the benefits, and also the downfalls, that come with UAVs, and how as an industry we can work together to ensure both physical and digital security.”

ANGOKA has a proven record of creating impenetrable security systems to protect driverless road vehicles and UAVs. The Belfast firm has partnered with a number of projects in the UK Research and Innovation’s Future Flight Challenge including Skyway in which air traffic corridors in the south of England have been designated for drones and unmanned aircraft. ANGOKA also supplies the hacker-proof security for automated, teleoperated and unmanned aircraft using these corridors.

Speakers participating in ANGOKA’s UK & Ireland Drone Summit include KPMG’s Chair, Global AAM and Future of Flight Community Chris Brown, Royal Airforce’s Air and Space Welfare Centre Commandant Air Commadore Blythe Crawford CBE, Innovate UK’s Future Flight Challenge Innovation Lead Vicki Murdie,  BT Group’s Director of Drones Dave Pankhurst, GSMA’s Senior Technical Director, Smart Mobility Lead Barbara Pareglio, and Civil Aviation Authority’s Emerging Policy Specialist for Future Safety and Innovation, Ed Fitzpatrick.

For more details and to register for the conference visit here.

Electric vehicle charging points vulnerable to cyber attack

Belfast based cyber security specialist ANGOKA says developers of the UK’s fast-growing network of electric vehicle charging points could be sleep-walking into a high-risk vulnerability to hacking and cyber-attacks.  

Significant and rapid growth in the number of electric vehicle charging points is expected in the next three years. There are estimated to be more than 100,000 petrol and diesel pumps across the UK while the number of EV charging points( home and Public) stands at over 350,000 and counting.  While the growth in public charging points will grow exponentially, the risk of hacking, disabling and even weaponizing these has become an increasingly recognized problem. 

Richard Barrington, ANGOKA’s head of land mobility says the race to decarbonize and the shift to electrification goes hand in hand with digitization.  

“We need to electrify our economy but we have not fully understood the need for cyber security in this transition,” says Mr Barrington.  

“While data protection through encryption is in place to prevent the theft of financial information through credit cards and electronic payment forms, the cyber security of the actual charging points should be at the top of the agenda,” he says. 

Because EV charging points are all networked, the risk goes beyond theft of financial information or abstracting electricity. ANGOKA says the potential to engineer an attack back onto the national grid or spoof charging indicators allowing batteries to be over or undercharged means the industry must adopt the Zero Trust principles of Never Trust, Always Verify! 

“The threat landscape becomes even more extensive when you consider the bi-directional data exchange between vehicle and charging point,” says Mr Barrington, “this data exchange can be unprotected and vulnerable meaning hijacking, the introduction of malware and denial of service attacks become probable. 

ANGOKA says the responsibility of providing the cyber security to protect these from attack has fallen between the players in the supply chain, Manufacturers, Installers, operators and procurers e.g. local authorities. 

New regulations coming into force next year creates a more open market in that anyone should be able to use any charging point  irrespective of the operator.  Unfortunately greater levels of interconnectivity will lead to a widening of the threat landscape and risk potentially at national scale.  Mr Barrington. “We believe there is an approach that can address these concerns and the  EV charging sector and the motor industry must step up and take action.” 

Representatives from the automotive sectors are due to meet ANGOKA representatives in Belfast in the coming weeks in anticipation of new EV charging point regulations to be introduced next summer.  

ANGOKA wins big at Infosecurity Europe 2023

Belfast-based cyber security specialist ANGOKA has been awarded the title of ‘UK’s Most Innovative Cyber SME’ at this year’s Infosecurity Europe.

ANGOKA’s solutions for smart cities and smart mobility, which strengthen the cybersecurity and safety of connected devices such as connected and autonomous vehicles, have been recognised by both the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Infosecurity Europe as meeting technology goals, seeing them win the award as the UK’s Most Innovative Cyber SME 2023.

Now in its eighth year, the prestigious contest open to micro, small and medium cybersecurity businesses registered in the UK saw 14 of the UK’s most creative and original information security businesses shortlisted and competing for the title.

ANGOKA’s unique and patented solution represents a paradigm shift by securing the device rather than the network. They provide an integrated identity and key management technology to embed trust in connected devices even over untrusted networks in areas including Critical National Infrastructure, Smart Cities, Smart Mobility, and Industry 4.0

In accepting the award, ANGOKA’s business development manager, Paul Ellis said: “The UK has a brilliant and dynamic cyber sector and to be recognised by your industry peers is a great honour and truly humbling. We’ve approached the important issue of securing IoT and machine to machine communication with a fresh perspective and a unique approach that’s increased traction in the market. We’ve got something different and the judges recognised our innovation and the future of ANGOKA. This recognition will help us continue on our upward trajectory.”

Andrew Elliot, deputy director, DSIT, added: “Cyber SMEs are the backbone of the UK sector, making up more than 90% of the companies in the country. They help drive innovation by bringing new products and services to the market, and that is why we are proud to sponsor this competition. Congratulations to this year’s winner ANGOKA, and all the finalists for making the final decision so tough.”

Nicole Mills, exhibition director at Infosecurity Group, commented: “This competition is a highlight of the event and an opportunity to spotlight innovation and provide a launch pad for up and coming cybersecurity start-ups. We’ve seen past winners really thrive and go on to achieve great things, growing exponentially and receiving funding to continue their growth. ANGOKA are a prime example of a company keeping pace with an evolving industry and spotting opportunities to innovate and meet industry demands.”

Infosecurity Europe is the biggest gathering of the information security industry in Europe, taking place between 20–22 June 2023 in ExCel London.

ANGOKA flying high as member of international drone group

Belfast cyber security firm ANGOKA has been accepted as a member of Geneva-based Global Uncrewed Traffic Management Association (GUTMA).  

ANGOKA, which specializes in securing the safe passage of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) and remote and automated road transport vehicles, says joining the group will enhance the firm’s international reach in this fast developing sector.  

GUTMA represents organizations involved in innovative drone services and smart mobility solutions enabled by services that keep drone operations at all altitudes safe and efficient. It engages in impactful research and development and in technical, regulatory and political processes to foster a global ecosystem in a fair global drone services market. 

Martin Hawley, ANGOKA Head of Business Development for AAM (advanced air mobility), says GUTMA membership brings ANGOKA into a new sphere of influence at a time when the drone industry is on the cusp of explosive development. 

“Cyber security in the uncrewed traffic management (UTM) space will cement the industry’s reputation as being serious about safety as well as the security of its cargo,” says Dr Hawley.  

“As cyber is seen as a driver of IoT (internet of things) adoption, it will in the same way drive market adoption of drone and uncrewed aerial vehicles solutions and AAM. I’m looking forward to meeting other members of GUTMA to see how we can support the industry.” 

“We are moving faster than ever towards the commercialization of automated flight across many sectors ranging from search and rescue to logistics and traffic management,” he says.     

GUTMA members include Boeing, Airbus, the Federal Aviation Administration and many other leading aviation, electronics and aeronautical businesses. 

ANGOKA has a proven record of creating impenetrable security systems to protect UAVs. The firm has partnered with a number of projects in the UK Research and Innovation’s Future Flight Challenge including Skyway in which air traffic corridors in the south of England have been designated for drones and unmanned aircraft. ANGOKA supplies the Future- Proof security for automated, teleoperated and uncrewed aircraft using these corridors.