Digital Battlespace 
Farnborough 2010: Detica outlines cyber security plans
Detica has outlined a two-pronged approach to dealing with the threat of cyber warfare in a briefing at Farnborough International Air Show.
The company, which was acquired by BAE Systems in 2008, said it is focussed on what it calls a ‘groundbreaking information innovation' that aims to provide improved security at lower costs. The approach utilises innovative analytics to fully exploit existing information, and an enhanced approach to the protection of data from increasingly asymmetric threats.
Detica executive Tom Burton said that there is a need to more effectively extract intelligence from the wealth of information available through information gathering technology. ‘What we are seeing,' Burton explained, ‘is that most organisations and government departments already have access to enough information and databases. The real power now lies in converting this into knowledge or intelligence; and this requires a new way of looking at the problem which also ensures that data is comprehensively defended'.
The term ‘cyber warfare' is fast becoming a cover-all term to refer to all types of information attacks, and Detica's focus is on the adaptive and ever-changing nature of such attacks, be they on companies, governments, or national critical infrastructure.
Burton highlighted the fact that rigid rules cannot be applied in database protection practices as attackers actively test for rules in order to find weaknesses. ‘Relying on rules will prevent you from identifying the unknowns,' Burton explained. ‘We need to apply advanced analytics and let the data lead us to the answer, not impose our preconceptions of the likely answer on to the data. By taking this approach from the outset we can prioritise scarce and expensive resources so that they are focussed on the areas of highest risk or greatest benefit.'
He said Detica would do this by understanding strategic drivers, scoping and refining the ‘art of the possible', characterising opportunities, identifying the target, refining the intelligence and monitoring progress.
Detica is also applying this technology to military applications, using it to identify significant costs in the support of military capability, including BAE System's readiness and support contracts. Burton explained, ‘without collecting any new data, we have helped the British Army's personnel function to deliver direct benefits that were some ten times greater than the investment made in improving data governance and exploitation', by applying analysis techniques to the extensive supply chain, maintenance, failure and usage data that is collected by platforms.
‘In identifying the root-causes of failure that cause waste, and have a direct impact on life or national security, the motivations for this technology are arguably overwhelming', Burton said.
By Claire Apthorp, Farnborough
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