Grant boost for Cheshire cyber security experts

A Cheshire company specialising in cyber security has won funding to improve digital services in the health and care sector – with help from the Innovation Agency.

Cyphere has built a portfolio of clients including housing associations, construction firms and financial services and online retailers.

Now the £50,000 Fast Start grant from Innovate UK, designed to boost advanced computing and patient self-management, will help it gain a foothold in the health and care system.

Director Harman Singh said the funding would help Cyphere, which has bases in Warrington and Altrincham, to support small companies to comply with security standards and carry out penetration testing, which simulates cyber attacks to test the security of a system.

He said: “We particularly want to support companies in the healthcare supply chain that are offering mental health and wellbeing services.

“Very often a company will supply an app with minimal security input to the market and it won’t comply with anything other than blanket regulations, so while launching an app isn’t itself a big deal, making sure it meets the security and privacy design requirements is.

“When a small company is working to comply with certain regulations such as DTAC (Digital Technology Assessment Criteria) and National Data Guardian standards, the portal we’re developing will help them fast track that compliance work along with cyber security hygiene.”

Harman specialises in identifying potential threats to IT systems and delivering solutions that balance security and usability. “We’re not a ‘report and run’ company!” he says.

He added: “We wouldn’t be able to offer the kind of service we want if it hadn’t been for the grant. Now we’ll be able to bring in sub-contractors who can take the service in the right direction.

“Health Innovation North West Coast has been instrumental in helping us get the grant. I wouldn’t have heard of it otherwise. Health Innovation North West Coast gave us the benefit of their strategic understanding of the market, so their guidance was vital.”

Indi Singh, the Innovation Agency’s Cheshire Commercial Programme Manager, said many small innovative companies were unaware of funding sources.

“There are plenty of innovative companies out there with solutions to some of the health system’s problems.

“The challenge is to find those companies and make sure their work makes its mark in the health service and eventually leads to better outcomes for patients both in terms of clinical safety and cyber security.”