Cyber4Pros - Cybersecurity

Cyber4Pros Solutions

Current cybersecurity solutions rely heavily on encryption, firewalls, and VPNs, which are reactionary, require constant updates to defend against evolving threats, and are rapidly becoming less effective as cyberattacks grow more sophisticated via all avenues of entry. Access through hardware supplying or routing the internet connection (zero-day vulnerabilities, supply chain attacks via updates and patches, ISP infrastructure or compromised DNS servers, and IoT devices) is also increasing as attacks facilitated by AI become more successful.

We will soon be in a quantum computing age and quantum computers can break encryption. Quantum-resistant algorithms are being developed and tested by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) but it will be at least 2028 before they could be widely adopted and will only work with complete software and hardware system overhauls for even a modest level of success.

Current conventional methods require complex infrastructures, updates, and manual intervention that lead to vulnerabilities, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that may lack the resources to manage these outdated tools effectively. NIST spent six years reviewing and researching quantum-resistant algorithms and selected four in 2022 as a start to its efforts in securing the post quantum world. For general encryption, NIST has selected the CRYSTALS-Kyber algorithm and for digital signatures, it has selected the CRYSTALS-Dilithium, FALCON, and SPHINCS+ algorithms. The first three rely on math problems called structured lattices while SPHINCS+ relies on hash functions. They are working on adopting four more. NIST says that “it is critical to begin planning for replacement of hardware, software, and services that use public-key algorithms now so that the information is protected from future attacks” which includes virtually all cybersecurity systems today. The scale of this process is so huge that it is hard to imagine, while the current and expected future NIST selected algorithms are not proven to be inviolate and fully secure. They are quantum-resistant, not quantum-repellent. Meanwhile, cybercriminals only need to work on breaking the selected, announced algorithms and search for new vulnerabilities related to the system updating process installing the NIST algorithms.

Cyber4Pro’s first NextGen Cybersecurity Device is a Secure Gateway, the "R2IS2E", that operates with a proprietary secure Operating System (OS). The secure OS ensures that external threats are unable to pass through the gateway or subsequently access critical systems and directs the signal flow to our secure chip(s) and its decision making. Its simplicity reduces the attack surface. The name stands for "Receiving & Routing Internet Signals Securely Everytime”. We have the finished OS kernel (partially funded by DARPA), proof of concept, and are now building our prototype.

Our Secure Smart Chips work in a variety of environments including secure gateway and edge devices. These chips possess the ability to read and analyze packets/code in real time, identifying malware before it can pass through the device or breach the system on the protected side of the device. Abnormal packets/code can be side-tracked into a dedicated, dead-end hard drive for subsequent extraction and analysis. Our smart chip solutions are unique due to their ability to identify new malware threats in real time using agentic AI, without relying on pre-existing virus databases. This capability reduces the need for constant security updates, providing continuous protection even against previously unknown threats, or “Zero Day” events.

Ultimately, our secure solutions can be added to many devices and systems that must have state of the art security such as: IoT devices and sensors; Industrial Control Systems and SCADA devices; all networking equipment, modem/routers, servers and hybrid cloud setups; printers, scanners and storage devices; robotic, medical, autonomous, digital twin, and telecommunications devices; and legacy systems. With encryption techniques securing many of today’s cybersecurity solutions becoming vulnerable to quantum computing, time is of the essence to pivot into more advanced technologies. We expect to use partners like TP-Link for routers; chip design, layout & testing services firm IC-Enable; and fabricator SkyWater Technology to manufacture our chips. Our partners are ISO 9001 certified and ITAR compliant.

With the current reliance on encryption for cybersecurity, NIST and others are working on quantum-resistant algorithms for security. Full-scale adoption of such algorithms replacing older encryption methods will take at least until 2028, as organizations need to update hardware, software, and protocols across their networks and infrastructures.

It is unclear how well the quantum-resistant algorithms will work with sophisticated AI tools combined with quantum computers possibly outpacing their development which could make them ineffective. The simplest solution is to switch away from encryption, firewalls, and VPNS to alternative technologies such as Cyber4Pros’s secure OSs and smart chips which can be implemented into current hardware and systems protocols much more easily and efficiently.