Published: February 26, 2018

Today, we are happy to introduce the newest growing Canadian business that will test their solution on the CENGN infrastructure, Crypto4A from Ottawa. Crypto4A specializes in quantum-ready cybersecurity solutions designed to improve the security and protection of cloud, IoT, FinTech, Blockchain, V2x, as well as government and military application deployments. Crypto4A has developed its Universal Cyber-Security Appliance (UCSA) to eliminate the challenges of managing security infrastructure with ease of deployment, ease of use, and remote management. The cybersecurity company has come to CENGN to scale test the performance of their UCSA solution. Upon completion of the project, Crypto4A will understand the network specifications required for clients to use UCSA based on the number of devices to be secured.

Crypto4A was founded in 2012 by a group of four Canadian cybersecurity experts who combined have over a century of experience in information security, cryptography, and commercial and military applications. Crypto4A saw their opportunity when the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) of the United States proposed the development of Entropy as a Service (EaaS) to ensure advances will be made in the deployment and support of quantum-ready key generation technologies for IoT devices. Entropy refers to the lack of order or predictability and is a foundation for cybersecurity cryptography. Crypto4A found their niche in EaaS, producing a quantum-ready next generation security platform. Announced in June 2017, Crypto4A received investment from 2Keys, a Canadian information technology security company, to expedite the development of Crypto4A’s UCSA.

Advancing the Way Cyber Cryptology Works

The IoT revolution encompasses everything from our mobile devices to smart homes, smart cities, and autonomous cars – this is producing an enormous number of sensors that are sending sensitive data traffic. The majority of IoT devices rely on simple Random Number Generators (RNGs) for security. RNG algorithms are limited because they use a defined value to generate random numbers for encryption. As more and more of these random numbers are generated, the deterministic nature of the value becomes apparent due to identifiable patterns in random number output. This low-entropy method makes devices using RNGs easily susceptible to decryption as RNG patterns can be easily identified and the randomness can be predicted, putting confidential information at risk.

In order to enhance security, Crypto4A’s independent operating system, UCSA, is comprised of multiple entropy sources including a purpose-built quantum entropy device, an entropy server, and a real-time entropy health monitor that lies within their solution. The quantum entropy device acts as a source of randomness by collecting input from quantum effects in a purpose built semi-conductor device. The entropy server generates random numbers in response to device requests by client devices. A real-time health-status monitor guarantees the proper on-going functioning of the entropy source. By going beyond simpler RNG designs and using multiple independent entropy sources, an extra level of randomness is added into the cryptography, increasing the power of the encryption security on devices.

Scale Testing Crypto4A’s UCSA on the CENGN Cloud

In order to drive their cybersecurity solution to market, Crypto4A needs to understand the performance and requirements of running their product on different client networks. This is where CENGN can help. By leveraging CENGN’s cloud services, Crypto4A will be able to integrate UCSA into a CENGN cloud tenancy and use virtual machines to simulate devices. This will allow the company to test the EaaS performance of the UCSA as the number of devices requesting a random encryption key is increased. The project will also determine how many Transport Layer Security (TLS) requests can be processed by the UCSA simultaneously as well as discover any bottlenecks in the system and how they can be relieved.

Like many other growing Canadian businesses, Crypto4A saw the resources at CENGN as a great opportunity to begin testing the scalability of their solution within CENGN’s cloud environment and to receive project management and technical help along the way. CENGN’s testbed services are beneficial to businesses like Crypto4A looking to stress, scale, and functionally test their next generation solution. Without having to rent out cloud tenancies from other providers, they are given their own dedicated project space within the CENGN cloud to deploy their solution. The major benefit for Crypto4A is the ability to have their solution validated and improved. Upon completion of the project, Crypto4A will not only have validated their UCSA solution but also will have completed the testing necessary to understand the requirements of their client’s network to run UCSA based on the number of devices to be protected.

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About the Author

CENGN, Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks, drives technology innovation and industry growth through our testbed, technical expertise, talent development, and partner ecosystem. Through our projects, CENGN enables small and medium Canadian Enterprises to test and validate promising technologies, removing barriers to product commercialization and accelerating market growth.

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