OceanShield, a cybersecurity specialist firm for the maritime industry, has secured US$800,000 in a seed funding round from Masik Enterprise, angel investors, and grant funding.
The startup, which is based in Singapore, intends to use the funding to commercialise its solution.
“As this is a solution for the protection of vessel Operational Technology (OT), the commercialisation process is key for the company to generate awareness that this type of solution now exists,” Brian Worning, Head of Commercial at OceanShield, said.
OceanShield was founded in 2o20 by Dr Dmitry Mikhaylov, a scientist, serial entrepreneur and private-equity specialist in the deep tech industry.
The platform offers patented cybersecurity solutions to protect the OT systems of vessels, ports and maritime and offshore infrastructure.
Its patented core Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is a hardware/software complex trained to read and analyse the industrial protocols in vessel OT networks and provide real-time intrusion alerts.
On being asked why this solution was so essential for the maritime industry, Worning said that vessel OT’s have some of the most critical systems which can result in disastrous incidents, if not taken care of. For example, false data in navigational systems can cause loss of location and navigational control which in turn causes rerouting or collision.
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While multiple marine IT protection solutions exist, the OT side has largely been ignored due to the specialised knowledge and technology required to offer functional OT protection, the company said.
“OceanShield is uniquely positioned to carve a niche in this nascent market. We are especially encouraged by the fact that we are
successfully engaging top maritime players and institutions and receive positive feedback on both the quality and unique technological approach of our IDS,” Mikhail Zeldovich, Managing Director of Masik Enterprises, said.
OceanShield told e27 that as of now its clients include a mix of maritime operators, regulators and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs). It also has a pipeline of installations and deployments coming soon.
The company plans to expand its services globally but is currently focused towards building its presence in Asia, which it says is the shipbuilding centre of the world.
The maritime tech sector in Singapore has seen a rise since 2019 about the same time PIER71 (Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined @ BLOCK71) launched a programme to build a maritime entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Singapore.
SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore also invested US$36 million into maritime tech startups last year to give the growing sector an added boost.
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Image Credit: Andrey Sharpilo
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