Cyacomb, a digital forensics company whose technology can detect and block harmful online content, has raised a further £3.8m from Scottish National Investment Bank, Mercia Ventures, Scottish Enterprise, Par Equity and the MacLeod Trust.
The Edinburgh-based firm has developed safeguarding software that is used by law enforcement agencies around the world and is 100 times quicker than existing sifting tools on the market. Cyacomb’s forensic tools provide a rapid triage service that allow them to make critical decisions quicker than ever before. Illegal images and videos can be detected in seconds, rather than hours, including material that has been deleted. Its latest product, Cyacomb Safety, detects and blocks child sexual abuse material within an end-to-end encrypted environment whilst protecting user privacy and security. Cyacomb will use the support to scale up its operations and explore new markets.
Ian Stevenson, CEO, said: “Our forensics products help law enforcement find evidence fast, speeding investigations and supporting prompt safeguarding actions for children and the wider community. We are now turning our attention up-stream too, tackling one of society’s most pressing issues – the rising levels of child sexual abuse material being shared in our increasingly encrypted online world. This funding comes at a strategic time for us as we expand our market reach.”
David Baker of Mercia Ventures said: “Cyacomb has developed a powerful technology that has the potential to help social media platforms meet their obligations under the new legislation while safeguarding users’ privacy. Mercia has backed the company since its inception and we are pleased to support this further funding round to help it bring its digital tools to a wider audience.”