$1.3m USAF Contract For AI-Powered Social Cyber

Narf Industries plc (LSE: Narf), the cybersecurity group specializing in high-end threat intelligence and critical infrastructure security, is pleased to announce the award of a circa $1.3 million contract to implement its cutting-edge social engineering threat intelligence solution in the U.S. Air Force's Platform One Iron Bank Project.

This contract award represents the first milestone in the Company's strategy to accelerate its shift from project based work to a more lucrative Software as a Service ("SaaS") revenue model (as previously announced on 1 May 2024). It also further demonstrates Narf's capabilities to be uniquely effective in battling a new generation cyber threat to the global open-source software ("OSS") supply chain.

Iron Bank provides container hardening standards and transparency into container images used within the Platform One ecosystem. These standards and transparency are available to the Department of Defense ("DoD") community to enable a secure software supply chain for all software engineers. These packages are used in systems throughout the DOD digital infrastructure, including command and control operations, weapon systems, and global logistics operations. Iron Bank plays a critical role in the DOD's software supply chain security ("SSCS") for OSS.

Under the new contract, Narf will integrate its breakthrough threat intelligence solution into Iron Bank's Development, Security, Operations ("DevSecOps") infrastructure. This integration aims to protect against advanced cyberattacks employing social engineering tactics to introduce malware and to take-over OSS projects and compromises the software supply chain. Narf's suite of advanced detection and infiltration algorithms will be crucial in enhancing Iron Bank's security measures.

Narf will apply its solution to the high rate, high volume data sources involved in the DevSecOps pipelines that build thousands of software containers. Leveraging AI techniques from its government funded intellectual property portfolio, Narf's suite of advanced detection and infiltration algorithms will automate data curation, incident summarization, and pattern generation tasks. These advancements will significantly reduce the manual workload for analysts, enhance the effectiveness of Iron Bank personnel, and expedite the triage of new threats to maintain project trustworthiness.

Steve Bassi, Narf President and CEO said: "In February, we identified Social Cyber as a leading candidate in our R&D portfolio for commercialization. By May, we announced plans to accelerate this work in response to a significant global cyber threat incident. In June, we outlined a strategic plan that included a crucial milestone: achieving near-term validation of demand from a major customer. I am proud to report that our team has achieved this milestone months ahead of schedule. With this validation, we are now swiftly moving forward with engagements from additional customers and partners to reinforce our leadership in these multi-billion-dollar cybersecurity market segments."