After nearly five years of development, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate is making a malware detection technology commercially available.
The agency announced on April 28 that Hyperion, a malware forensics and software assurance technology, will transition to the marketplace through S&T’s Transition to Practice program. The TTP, administered by the agency’s Cyber Security Division, fully funds projects from their nascent research stages to the commercial marketplace.
Hyperion, developed by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, can detect malicious behavior in software not previously identified as a threat. Lenvio, a branch of R&K Cyber Solutions, has exclusive license to shape Hyperion as a competitive product.
“The commercialization of Hyperion builds on TTP’s previous successes in transitioning technologies to the marketplace and shows that the TTP program is making a direct impact on improving cybersecurity in the public and private sectors,” said Acting DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology Robert Griffin in a press release from S&T.
Hyperion was selected from thousands of nominations and inducted into the TTP class in 2012. In 2015, it won the R&D 100 Award, which recognizes the greatest research projects of the year.
The TTP selects about eight new technologies a year; these projects are ultimately linked to investors and developers who can commercialize them as products.
“Commercial technology companies and technology investors should take note of the success of Hyperion because it shows that government-funded R&D technologies are viable solutions for today’s complex cybersecurity issues and that the TTP process is critical in bridging the gap between the lab and market for mature technologies,” said TTP Program Manager Nadia Carlsten.
