Data protection startup CryptoMove Inc., which launched after five years in stealth in January, has landed a contract with the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection Agency to secure data on drones and end-to-end data centers.

The San Mateo, California-based company offers a decentralized datastore that protects data with dynamic movement, mutation, fragmentation and re-encryption of any algorithm in any environment. The company’s platform taps into fog computing in that it can collect and process data at the edge, claiming that it delivers a fundamentally new approach to data protection.

“CryptoMove solves distributed and decentralized storage problems in IoT [Internet of Things] and edge environments,” the company explained in details sent to SiliconANGLE. “CryptoMove’s decentralized datastore enables resilient and highly available storage on lightweight devices like Raspberry Pi’s — or drones — in an industrial edge setting.”

The new deal calls for the company to work with the CBP via the Silicon Valley Innovation Program. The goal is to enhance mission capabilities and support U.S. Border Patrol agents’ activities when using small unmanned aerial systems, including greater overall situational awareness and detection, tracking, apprehension, and search and rescue operations.

“Data is increasingly distributed & decentralized in edge, fog, and IoT infrastructure,” investor Tim Draper said in a statement. “These global transformations make data at rest an easy target for hackers. The reason we’re excited about CryptoMove is that its technology reimagines data storage and protection for this new decentralized infrastructure world.”

CryptoMove has raised $1.5 million to date from investors that include Draper Associates, Pathbreaker Capital, Red Dog Capital, Oberndorf Ventures and a number of individual investors. The company is being advised by current and former heads of security from Google Inc., Symantec Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The company will be making a presentation of its technology July 12 at the 2017 Cyber Security R&D Showcase and Technical Workshop in Washington, D.C.

Photo: Gerald Nino/Wikimedia Commons