The north's economy minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald has announced that ANGOKA is investing £1.8m in a cyber security solution for the advanced manufacturing sector.
The COSMIC (Cybersecurity for Operational Systems in Manufacturing and Industrial Control) initiative will deliver a cyber security solution to protect organisations from the threat of cyber attacks due to the digitalisation of manufacturing systems.
It is being developed in partnership with the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) and with financial support from Invest NI.
L-R: Sam Turner, CEO, AMIC; Dr Caoimhe Archibald, economy minister; Steve Berry, ANGOKA chairman; Dr Vicky Kell, director of innovation, research & revelopment, Invest NI.
Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: “This investment by ANGOKA will help increase productivity, create good jobs, and boost innovation across two of our priority sectors – cyber security and advanced manufacturing.
Collaboration between government, academia and the private sector
“It is the result of collaboration between government, academia and the private sector. And it has been enabled by the City and Growth Deal which established the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre. So today’s announcement is a great example of our economic strategy paying dividends.”
Founded in 2019, ANGOKA’s technology has been developed for smart and connected systems ensuring that machines can communicate securely without interference from hackers and cyber security threats.
ANGOKA chairman Steve Berry said: “With cyber threats growing in both scale and sophistication, demand for solutions that protect online devices has surged across the globe. COSMIC is a reaction to the growing need for cyber security adoption in the advanced manufacturing sector due to the detrimental impact any breaches could have on the operational resilience of manufacturing facilities.
“Our new solution will allow us to expand our core offering and achieve ambitious growth targets. It will be designed for ease of deployment both on existing and new manufacturing equipment. This seamless deployment will be a key enabler for breaking into new markets across the globe.”
Over the next two years AMIC will support the development of the solution through product testing, identification of target customers for commercial deployments and acting as a point of contact with industry groups.
'Transforming processes'
Sam Turner, CEO of AMIC said: “AMIC is at the heart of the innovation support system for Northern Ireland manufacturing. Led by Queen’s University in partnership with industry, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and Ulster University, we support our industrial clients in transforming processes and introducing new cutting-edge innovative products.
“With our new Factory-of-the-Future opening in 2026 and our mission to drive growth, competitiveness and innovation, the AMIC team is delighted to support ANGOKA with this project.”
Dr Vicky Kell, director of innovation, research and development at Invest NI added: “This investment in R&D is a vote of confidence in our talent, infrastructure and R&D capabilities in Northern Ireland. The benefits of investing in R&D are rich, and ANGOKA is testament to how R&D can enable the development of game changing products which can drive competitiveness in the global market.
“This investment directly supports our business strategy, which prioritises accelerating innovation and maximising the wider benefits of City and Growth Deals to drive innovation and build collaboration with academia and industry to develop next-generation products and services.”