iomart applying machine learning to cyber security
Information technology and cloud computing company iomart has partnered with technology transfer firm Crossword to create a machine learning-based defence against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. The latter is a form of cyberattack which mimics human behaviour, making them difficult to prevent or block without cutting off human users.
iomart has today announced that it is working with the technology transfer company Crossword on a Machine Learning based approach to cyber defence. The two companies are co-operating on preventing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on iomart's customers based on Crossword Cybersecurity's Nixer technology.

The partnership is part of a move to provide an enhanced package of cyber defence measures for our customers. It will help us combat the growth in complex, ever-changing application-layer DDoS attacks that are designed to mimic normal human behaviour, making them hard to block without cutting off real users.

Bill Strain, Chief Technology Officer for iomart said, 'Application-layer DDoS attacks vary so much that a defence based on looking at the signatures of previous attacks just doesn't work. We have DDoS protection at network level but have been looking for a machine learning based defensive technology that evolves with the attacks down to the application layer, and we really like the approach that Crossword Cybersecurity have taken with Nixer.'

Tom Ilube, CEO of Crossword continued, 'iomart is the perfect partner for us because they provide hosting and cloud services to customers at every level from SME up to some very big Corporates. We will be able to bring the AI capabilities of Nixer to bear on creating and evolving an adaptive additional layer of defence for their customers, giving them the option of even better application security.'