Credit: Dreamstime
Australian oil and gas company Woodside has invested a 10 per cent in Sapien Cyber, a cyber security start-up based in Perth.
Launched in 2016, the Joondalup business specialises in the provision of industrial cyber solutions, leveraging partnerships with Fortinet and Elastic.
From a services standpoint, the start-up provides expertise across threat analysis, vulnerability management and training, while also housing a security operations centre.
Terms of the deal will see Woodside CTO Shaun Gregory join the Sapien Advisory Board in an “observer” capacity.
“Woodside is proud to be supporting another Western Australian technology company,” Gregory said. “The sophistication of Sapien Cyber’s technology platform has the potential to deliver a comprehensive and multi-dimensional cyber security solution to protect Woodside’s operating assets.”
The business was created by a cyber security research team at Edith Cowan University, commercialised in partnership with Jindalee Partners, alongside collaboration with Woodside.
In protecting critical infrastructure, Sapien Cyber also utilises artificial intelligence and machine learning, backed up by real-time monitoring.
According to John Poynton - chairman of Sapien Cyber - criminals, activists and state agents are “continually refining” the potency of cyber weapons.
“Solutions need to evolve faster than the threats,” Poynton added. “Our unique approach offers unparalleled, real-time visibility to the client’s network, detecting operational technology cyber threats before they can wreak havoc.”
Headquartered in Perth, Woodside houses more than 3500 employees across locations in Australia, wider Asia Pacific, the UK, North America and Africa.
