U.S.-based provider of ethical open source intelligence (OSINT) ShadowDragon, South-Korean data intelligence company S2W, South-African consumer intelligence provider Omnisient and U.S. cyber risk decisioning platform X-Analytics were selected alongside other 96 companies among World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023 “Technology Pioneers”.
WEF’s “Technology Pioneers cohort represents global companies at the forefront of new technologies and innovation, and that are poised to make a significant impact on society. Technology Pioneers will be invited to join WEF events and discussions throughout the year, bringing together leading stakeholders from the public and private sector.
- ShadowDragon provides comprehensive, cyber investigative resources and training for use by private companies, intelligence gathering professionals, law enforcement, and government. The U.S.-based company delivers OSINT from over 200 networks including social media platforms, chat rooms, forums, historical datasets, and the dark web. The company monitors malware history, data breach dumps, and other areas for active cyber threats. These data collection and analytic tools help defend against malicious acts in the digital and physical world.
“I believe that the lawful use of publicly available information can save lives, reduce crime and hold those who take advantage of the weak accountable. As a Technology Pioneer, ShadowDragon looks forward to contributing to both dialogue and action around new solutions that overcome global crises such as human trafficking and child exploitation,” ShadowDragon CEO and founder Daniel Clemens, said in a press release.
ShadowDragon has also partnered with nonprofits that share common goals, including stopping human traffickers, to empower investigators with its tools and tested investigative methods.
- S2W is a South-Korean data intelligence company specialized in cyber threat intelligence, brand/digital abuse, and blockchain. S2W provides Threat Intelligence to protect customers from DDW and other external threats, Digital Abuse Intelligence analyze digital transaction and detect digital abuse and Virtual Asset Intelligence to analyze virtual asset and monitor illegal transactions.
This is the first time a South-Korean security startup like S2W has been chosen as one of the top 100 startups by the World Economic Forum, the company said in a LinkedIn post.
According to its corporate website, the company was established as “S2W Lab” in 2018 and a year later was certified as a venture company by the Korean Ministry for SMEs and Startups. In 2020, it raised $3.5 million from investors in a Series A Funding round and signed a contribution agreement with the Interpol. Later on, the company was selected as Dark Web data security provider for a big data centre platform project hosted by the Korean National Police University.
In 2021 it rebranded itself as S2W Inc., raised $10 million in a Series B Funding and was awarded dark web/OSINT Solution Grand Prize at the Security Awards Korea. In 2022, the company established a subsidiary in the U.S.
- Omnisient was founded in 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa and is a privacy enhancing technology, privacy-preserving and data collaboration platform in emerging markets, used by more than 80 of Africa’s largest banks, insurers, retailers, and healthcare organizations.
To date, in collaboration with its clients, Omnisient has enabled 8 million credit invisible individuals in South Africa to be scored for credit risk, out of which 3.2 million have already been identified as having a “good risk” credit score and can potentially gain access to affordable, life-changing credit that can provide them with opportunities for upward mobility and financial security, according to its corporate website.
As a Technology Pioneer, Omnisient CEO Jon Jacobson will be invited to engage with the World Economic Forum, working with global leaders to help address key industry and societal issues. “We are excited to share what we’ve learned and achieved in our local market with members of the Forum’s Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems to enable similar financial inclusion breakthroughs in new markets and to find new ways of using data in a responsible and ethical manner to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems,” Jacobson said in a company press release.
- X-Analytics was founded in 2013 in Arlington, Virginia, and is a patented and validated cyber risk decisioning platform developed by cyber risk analytics firm Secure Systems Innovation Corporation (SSIC). According to its corporate website, X-Analytics delivers business intelligence unlocking cyber risk strategies most effective to optimize successful business outcome, transforming how executives, the boardroom community and the cyber insurance industry effectively manage exposure to cyber risk.
“We are on a mission to ensure a cyber resilient future across all aspects of our digital society,” X-Analytics CEO John Frazzini said in a company press release. “It’s great to be acknowledged as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum and we look forward to engaging in the Forum’s Centre for Cybersecurity, sharing our thoughts and insights with other global leaders in the field.”
Areas of collaborative focus between X-Analytics and the World Economic Forum, Centre for Cybersecurity in Geneva, Switzerland will include cyber security strategy effectiveness, cyber insurance optimization, effective cyber risk boardroom governance and the application of generative AI innovation in pursuit of a cyber resilient future.
Launched in 2000, the Technology Pioneer community is composed of early-stage companies from around the world that are involved in the design, development and deployment of new technologies and innovations, and are poised to have a significant impact on business and society. The World Economic Forum provides the community with a platform to engage with public and private sector leaders and to contribute new solutions to overcome the current crisis and build future resiliency.
The Technology Pioneers community is part of the Innovator Communities within the Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Innovator Communities convene the world’s leading global startups across different growth stages from early-stage Technology Pioneers to growth-stage Global Innovators and unicorn companies valued at more than $1 billion.
Image source: https://initiatives.weforum.org/
