Ann: FGF Invests in Blockchain Security Platform Globalguard, page-21

Australian email security vendor MailGuard to launch blockchain-based cybersecurity solution GlobalGuard

By Michael Jenkin on Mar 16, 2018 6:39AM


Email and web filtering software vendor Mailguard is set to branch out into broader cybersecurity offerings, with the announcement of GlobalGuard, a new solution the company says will be powered by AI and blockchain.

Mailguard chief executive Craig McDonald said GlobalGuard is a new cybersecurity ecosystem designed to offer cryptocurrency security and protect businesses from email malware, phishing and social engineering attacks.

“It unites end-users, technology partners, cybercrime experts and vendors, on a living neural network, to identify and stop emerging threats immediately,” McDonald told CRN.

“Phishing is the big threat, and makes up about 50 percent of all cybercrime. One email is all it takes for cybercriminals to break into a computer system, so with the growth in online fraud at an all-time high, it’s never been more important to take proactive steps against cyber-attack.”
MailGuard is partnering with initial coin offering corporate advisory firm DigitalX on the blockchain ecosystem that will power GlobalGuard.

“GlobalGuard will unite end-users, technology partners, cybercrime experts and vendors throughout the world on a living neural network, to identify and stop threats immediately,” DigitalX chief executive Leigh Travers said.

"It is the next generation of cybersecurity and threat detection. Blockchain technology and AI is the new frontier in the fight against cybercrime. GlobalGuard will connect a network of collaborators to identify and thwart cyber threats instantaneously.”

The GlobalGuard algorithm was originally developed by MailGuard in collaboration with Deakin University, McDonald said. The company is also working with Ernst and Young and others to bring the neural network online.

“Although GlobalGuard is a new venture for me, in a very real way the MailGuard team has been working on this project for years now,” he said.

“It’s long been our view that cybersecurity needs to constantly evolve to remain effective. Cybercriminals are always looking for new tools and strategies to scam companies, so we have to be forward-looking in our approach to defence as well.”

McDonald added that while the power of blockchain systems facilitated collaboration and delivered many new opportunities, digital currency systems, like any currency system, was vulnerable to attack and theft.

“This is an opportunity to leverage massive scale collaboration, to build an unprecedented community of cybercrime-fighters, and at the same time offer new and better tools to stop criminals attacking Blockchain infrastructure,” he said.

GlobalGuard is expected to launch later this year.