The recent cyber super threat known as ‘Log4J’ is driving intense interest in Perth company Hyprfire’s flagship software product, Firebug – part of a revolutionary Power Al platform developed in conjunction with Curtin University researchers.
Log4j’s (aka Log4Shell) critical penetrability is through exploiting the Log4j java-based logging tool used by millions of computers and devices worldwide. It enables cyber criminals to illegally access companies' digital assets to carry ransomware and perpetrate data theft and financial theft.
US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) director Jen Easterly recently described Log4j as the most serious threat she’s seen in her decades-long career, warning that until proven otherwise, companies should assume that they are at risk and that intruders may already in their network planning an attack.
Hyprfire’s chief technology officer, Stefan Prandl worked with the Curtin research team through its School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences to develop the technology, which is based on Hyprfire’s revolutionary Power AI platform and uses powerful statistical techniques to distinguish malicious network traffic from normal traffic.
HyprFire's Managing Director Tim Jones is former winner of the prestigious Mitsubishi Australia Innovator of the Year Award. He says Firebug is designed to upgrade IT teams’ ability to detect unusual and unwanted activity on their networks and Firebug makes previous generation solutions look ‘slow, noisy and expensive’.
He says threat hunting on internal networks is notoriously difficult with security professionals describing it as like ‘looking for a needle in a haystack’.
Mr Jones says Firebug is part of a new generation of network security tools specifically designed to recognise these ‘needles’ which are unusual behaviours signifying criminal activity.
“Firebug provides organisations with an early warning system on their internal computer networks and alerts them to vulnerabilities and unauthorised activities before a ransom or other cyberattack happens,” he explains.
“For the first time, Firebug provides organisations with effective network visibility and it fits easily into common security stacks.
“We really believe that Firebug can help stop cyber attackers causing damage to our organisations, governments and businesses."
Firebug’s customers include Western Australia’s premier sport and entertainment venue owners and managers VenuesWest. In addition, Firebug has been deployed in a range of organisations, including government agencies, utilities, schools and contracting businesses.
VenuesWest’s chief information officer Ian Millar says organisations need to have better network visibility in order to find unknown threats.
“It’s no longer enough only to have perimeter and endpoint security systems,” he explains.
“We’re excited about Firebug’s ability to find and hunt down unauthorised and malicious activity on our networks.
“Firebug has been successful in detecting activity unlike that of other solutions on the market and it’s great that this solution is being provided by a Western Australian group.”
Hyprfire launched in January 2021 using $2.25m in seed capital raised by high profile local investors including Craig Burton, the Rae Family Group, Venturex Resources boss Bill Beament and Kinetic IT chairman David McCleery, in conjunction with local investment banks Ashanti Capital and Azure capital.
The company has bolstered its board of directors with David Buckingham (formerly of Naviitas and iiNet) joining as chairman.
Last year Hyprfire also partnered with leading Cyber Security and Managed Security Services Provider ES2 to sell, deploy and manage Firebug in the WA market.
ES2’s managing director Frederic Drouin says his team is very excited about Firebug because it addresses a major gap in cyber defences.
“We truly believe this is the missing link between perimeter and endpoint security solutions; it will help us provide our clients with the next level of network visibility and response, and stronger defence against today’s cyberattacks,” he says.
Contact Tim Jones at tim.jones@hyprfire.com to discuss how Hyprfire can help manage your cyber security risks or visit the website https://www.hyprfire.com/ for further information.
