Secret Double Octopus has just raised $6 million in a Series A funding round from prominent venture capital funds and investors to introduce a new way of encrypting information. SDO is based on the research of Prof. Shlomi Dolev and Dr. Shimrit Tzur-David from BGU's
Department of Computer Sciences.
Whereas current encryption methods are easily hackable or hackable with enough computer processing power, SDO claims their system is much more robust. The idea is akin to shredding a piece of paper and then reassembling it. The information is broken down and then sent along different routes and can only be reassembled if you have all the pieces.
“Today’s encryption algorithms are robust because we do not yet have enough processing power to crack them,” says Prof. Dolev. “In contrast, our algorithm has a mathematical proof according to which it is uncrackable – even if you had unlimited computing power or quantum computing. The algorithm is called “secret sharing” which is now adapted to make communication networks secure.”
Those taking part in the funding round include Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), where SDO is part of their JVP Cyber Labs at the Advanced Technologies Park (Beer-Sheva, Israel). Additional funders include Liberty Media’s Israel Venture Fund, Iris Capital, Benhamou Global Ventures and angel investor Yaniv Tal. The range of investors indicates wide global interest and SDO is seeking to expand into Europe.
Netta Cohen, CEO of BGN Technologies, BGU’s technology company, “Ben-Gurion University is the leader in academic research on information systems, cyber security, databases and cloud. We facilitate the connection between innovative research and entrepreneurship and startups. We do this through partnerships and collaborations with accelerators and incubators, and forging real partnerships between different agencies - academia, businesses, municipality and government - to develop and promote Beer-Sheva and the Southern part of Israel.”
