Leading cybersecurity firm Votiro has announced plans for expansion through trusted channel partners into the Australian market following a successful capital raise of $16 million. The move is not entirely unexpected; Votiro’s majority shareholder is ASX-listed Senetas (ASX:SEN).
Founded in 2010, Votiro’s work in pioneering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of Zero Trust content security is what sets the company apart. Rather than following traditional security protocols which rely on signatures to detect threats, Votiro leverages AI’s potential in its unique ‘Detect,Disarm and Analyse’ approach to proactively defend against malware and ransomware risks.
The company’s cybersecurity solution involves meticulously breaking down each file, eliminating any potential threats, then reconstructing the file to its original state. This approach makes it almost impossible to hide malicious attacks in emails, attachments and uploaded/downloaded files – the most common method of infecting and gaining initial access used by hackers looking to ‘phish’ for valuable data.
Previously, this type of security process had an Achilles’ heel, as the reconstruction of files could interfere with the functionality of some documents, particularly those with macros in common formats like Microsoft Office. In effect it worked too well – it protected users, but it also presented a barrier when it came to collaborating on documents that used code to make work more efficient, because it is often hard to tell the difference between helpful and malicious code.
This also makes it the perfect use case for machine learning in cybersecurity. Votiro now utilises AI to learn and test macro code used by an organisation as part of its analysis, ensuring the full functionality of files post-reconstruction. It can now tell good code from bad, within seconds, at scale and without the need for expert intervention.
The AI-empowered technology offers Australia’s stretched cybersecurity teams the advantage of being able to effectively prioritise the threats they deal with each day. For instance, while an unopened malicious email is still a threat, one that has been opened is significantly more dangerous. Votiro’s technology helps triage these threats effectively, as well as stopping them in their tracks.
Beyond its core use in the enterprise, Votiro’s Zero Trust content security platform also holds a key role in preserving the integrity of data lakes used by AI companies. Large Language Models like ChatGPT have a clear weakness to attacks on the data they are trained on, making them a potential target for malicious injections. With the AI arms race set to accelerate, Detect & Disarm technology offers a vital solution to help protect companies from attacks that seek to slow their progress down or halt it entirely.
Votiro’s expansion into Australia coincides with the nation’s ongoing efforts to harden its supply chains against potential cybersecurity threats. Business data must also flow, often through attachments such as PDFs or cloud-stored documents.
The fragile nature of these file transfer, storage, and data exchange systems, has led to the implementation of data privacy laws in many nations, including Australia, that increase the requirements for supply chain organisations to increase their resilience to malicious file attacks.
With its AI-driven, Zero Trust content security, Votiro is not just joining the fight against cyber threats in Australia — it’s leading it. Fresh off the back of its successful capital raise, Votiro’s channel partner-led rapid expansion reflects a new era in cybersecurity.
This is more than a business expansion; it’s a leap forward in securing the digital world, one file at a time.
This article was developed in collaboration with Votiro , a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.