Blockchain-based startup NDSE Cyber, which does business as Naoris Protocol, said today it has closed on an $11.5 million funding round to build out an AI-based “cybersecurity mesh” that it promises will protect networks better as they grow.

The startup is being backed by a number of high-profile investors, chief among them Tim Draper of Draper Associates, who led the round. Other investors include Holt Xchange, Holdun Family Officer, SDC Management, Expert Dojo, Uniera, Level One Robotics and multiple angel investors, including some “well-known” NBA stars and tennis players.

Naoris Protocol is on a mission to revamp network security. The problem it’s trying to solve is that today’s computer networks can never be completely secured. That’s because an attacker only needs to compromise a single device within any network in order to gain access. What that means is that the more a network grows, the greater the number of potential entry points for attackers. With its blockchain-based cybersecurity mesh, Naoris aims to transform existing networks that are highly centralized into decentralized networks made up of “trusted machines” that can help to validate one another.

The idea is quite simple. Each new device that’s added to a network is onboarded securely, ensuring it has no vulnerabilities. Once that’s done, it becomes a trusted validator node that then has the task of helping to secure all of the other devices on the network. That in turn is accomplished with Naoris’ unique decentralized proof of security consensus mechanism, wherein validators are providing an incentive to agree on the security status of the other devices.

The underlying blockchain technology makes it possible for each network participant to perform trustless verification. The other element of Naori’s protocol is cryptocurrency, namely the CYBER token, which must be held by network participants and is used to prompt each node to scan other devices continuously for vulnerabilities. Naoris claims that networks actually become more secure as more devices are added, in direct contrast to today’s centralized networks, which become increasingly vulnerable as they grow.

Naoris explained that the blockchain enables it to record proof of trust with both confidentiality and provable integrity. It adds that the protocol is designed to supplement, rather than replace, existing cybersecurity systems. Its main goal is to detect and validate enforcement, which it does through a hyperstructure-inspired network that can detect security lapses almost as soon as they occur.

The company says grandly that it’s chasing a $10 trillion global opportunity — the estimated cost to enterprises of cybercrime in 2025. “Our vision is to leverage the cryptographic power of the many through blockchain to fundamentally change how trust happens between devices and applications on the internet,” said Naoris Protocol Chief Executive David Carvalho.

Naoris Protocol plans to have a concept of its system up and running toward the end of the year before launching its full product to clients in the banking, healthcare, civil infrastructure and other industries by mid-2023.

Image: Naoris Protocol