Two Defence Innovation Hub contracts awarded to Canberra-based cyber security company Penten are worth a total of $2.2 million, the federal government said today.
Penten will work on technology that can help “enhance the Australian Army’s capacity to send communications over unsecured networks,” said a statement released by assistant minister for finance, charities and electoral matters, Senator Zed Seselja.
“Funding has also been provided to help it develop a cyber-management capability and enhance security countermeasures,” the statement said. “This technology seeks to help the Australian Army monitor network traffic and mitigate attacks on its network.”
“These contracts will not only allow Penten to support local jobs and skills in Canberra, but will ensure members of the Canberra defence industry community continue to be engaged in developing cutting-edge technologies for Australia’s Defence Force,” Seselja said.
“I congratulate Penten on the work they have done so far in their contribution to our nation’s security, and strongly support the opportunities the Defence Innovation Hub affords to Canberran businesses to contribute to our nation’s defence.”
Penten earlier this year revealed that it was working on a proof of concept for the Australian Army that focused on generating decoy radiofrequency traffic.
“If you look at a vehicle on a battlefield, we’ll try and mimic that vehicle five or six times on the battlefield, so an RF-based targeting system that’s over the horizon will see five or six vehicles and won’t know which is the actual vehicle that they need to target,” chief executive Matthew Wilson told Computerworld in January.
Penten is also working on building “cyber tripwires” as part of a project in collaboration with the Cyber Security CRC.
In 2017, the company revealed details of the AltoCrypt Stik: A tiny USB-based device developed by Penten that is designed to deliver secure wireless access to government networks for individuals dealing with sensitive data.