Cybersecurity and Smart Technology : BAI Communications, Signify, U.S. Department of Defense, ThreatWarrior, Detroit Mercy Consortium

Global leader in the communications arena, BAI Communications, took a step in embracing the future of smart cities by forging a partnership with Dutch multinational lighting corporation, Signify. The purpose of this partnership is for the joint forces to develop and deploy innovative solutions for converting outdoor lighting infrastructure as a wireless communications platform according to reports.

As the IoT keeps ramping up and smart city initiatives continue to expand globally, there will be a strong need for municipalities to embrace technology such as this especially if it brings into play Signify’s portfolio of connected lighting tech with gigabit transmission integrated luminaires, smart poles, smart hubs, and the industry leading Internet of Things (IoT) platform.

Cybersecurity company ThreatWarrior raised $10 million in a Series A funding round that was led by Ecliptic Capital. According to the company this was an oversubscribed round that included other investors such as CrowdStrike Falcon Fund and Alumni Ventures Group. The cybersecurity arena is on the center stage and the companies that are providing the next generation of protection across the board will be the frontrunners in growth. Will ThreatWarrior be in the running? we don’t know but it really just shows the strong interest in this space and with the recent ransomware attacks this will not be slowing down anything soon.

Private equity firm FGA Partners has been investing heavily in the technology space over the past 5 years and pinpointing the development of platforms that incorporate security features that are scalable and incorporate next generation tech. There are many Silicon Valley venture firms that are investing in startup companies in the cybersecurity space and with the rising risk of cyber attacks jumping to over $20 billion this year alone and predicted to jump to $10 trillion by 2025, it shows that the great young minds out there that are creating next generation security protocols will be in great demand.

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has been dealing with this head on and at this point they seem to be embracing the great minds in the upper education space. They recently gave a $1.12 million grant to University of Detroit Mercy to establish the Metro-Detroit Regional Vehicle Cybersecurity Institute, a regional-based, cybersecurity consortium. That grant probably should’ve been $11 Million because they will need all the resources possible in order to equip university students with the tools needed to combat next generation cyber attacks in the auto industry.

In reality this is something that General Motors and Ford should be throwing into as well , their venture in the electric vehicle market will bring a very serious set of challenges as autos use more technology, it does leave them open to cyber attacks.

Just some more about this grant, it was awarded through Griffiss Institute’s Virtual Institutes for Cyber and Electromagnetic Spectrum Research and Employ (VICEROY) program, which establishes cyber institutes at higher learning institutions with the purpose of critical cyber operational skill development for future military and civilian leaders.

The Metro-Detroit Regional Vehicle Cybersecurity Institute initially includes Detroit Mercy, pipeline institutions Washtenaw Community College, Oakland Community College and Macomb Community College, and University of Arizona.