Nominet, the organisation behind .UK domain name registry, acquires USA cyber business and invests in tech

Nominet UK the organisation which manages and protects the .UK domain name registry, has acquired US-based cyber security business, CyGlass and revealed a major programme to upgrade security and services for its registry operations.

The £4m registry programme will develop the next generation of Nominet’s security and enhance its customer-facing systems.  Against a backdrop of increasing security threats, the programme will ensure Nominet systems continue to benefit from world-leading security and resilience.  This includes using artificial intelligence to help reduce phishing in the .UK namespace, building on the progress made by the Domain Watch initiative. Customer-facing systems, such as online services and registrar resources, will also be upgraded.  Nominet is initiating dialogue with registrars, the users of its systems and service, to help ensure the programme is shaped to address key priorities.

Eleanor Bradley, MD of Registry Solutions at Nominet, will oversee the registry investment programme.  “We want to be the best registry in the world, and that means investing in the evolution of our core systems. We’ve scoped out the priorities as we see them, with security and online services being at the top of our list, but we don’t want to proceed in isolation.  We will be involving the users of our systems to fine tune our plans.”

In a company first, Nominet has today also announced it has acquired US-based cyber security company CyGlass.  CyGlass offers affordable, advanced threat detection built for SMEs.

CyGlass’ Network Defence as a Service (NDaaS) simply and effectively identifies, detects, and responds to threats in a network without requiring any additional hardware, software, or people. The CyGlass cloud continuously analyses billions of conversations happening on an organisation’s network, learns what is normal, and alerts when suspicious behaviours that risk the security of the critical IT assets are detected. CyGlass complies with data privacy laws as the CyGlass cloud doesn’t require any personally identifiable information (PII) to detect threats.

The company has already secured customers through channel partners in US, Europe, Middle East, and Asia and will in future use Nominet’s reseller partner program ‘Velocity’.

Nominet CEO, Russell Haworth, said: “CyGlass has great technology, an impressive team and big potential. The acquisition of CyGlass allows us to build on the progress we’ve made building a network detection and response capability that is used by governments and critical national infrastructure clients worldwide.  CyGlass technology complements Nominet’s cyber portfolio and has an important part to play bringing better security within the grasp of SMEs.”

Ed Jackowiak, CyGlass MD, said: “We’re delighted to join the Nominet family.  At CyGlass, we’ve developed a game-changing solution that makes sophisticated threat detection capabilities universally available to organizations of all sizes.  With Nominet’s backing and investment moving forward, we enter a new and exciting phase of our development.”

Russell Haworth, Nominet CEO, added: “These investments underline our commitment to running a world class registry, and to building our cyber security proposition. In both ways, we can continue to play our part in a thriving, international digital economy and help deliver better security to more people.”

Nominet uses technology to improve connectivity, security and inclusivity online. For more than 20 years, Nominet has run the .UK internet infrastructure, developing an expertise in the Domain Name System (DNS) that now underpins sophisticated network detection and response solutions that are used by governments and enterprises to mitigate cyber threats.  Our public benefit programme aims to improve the lives of one million people, providing support and opportunities to tackle some of the most important digital issues facing young people today. In February 2020, Nominet acquired Boston based cyber security company CyGlass.  www.nominet.uk/

CyGlass is a leading provider of network centric, threat detection solutions that allow SMEs to uncover, pinpoint, and respond to advanced cyber threats that have evaded traditional security controls.   CyGlass’ mission is to provide organizations with a new level of intelligent cyber attack defense. Its asset oriented, risk-based approach to threat detection and mitigation focuses attention on the emerging attacks which pose the greatest risk. www.cyglass.com