COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ohio Innovation Fund (OIF) is pleased to announce the launch of DAtAnchor. Founded by NSF-award winning MIT Ph.D. and The Ohio State University professor Emre Koksal, DAtAnchor’s proprietary cybersecurity solution embeds crypto-security into the data, and tracks and controls who has access to data based on multiple context factors such as person, location, type of data, and access modality among others. Access to data can be revoked at any point and the crypto-security can be triggered at any time to make already accessed data unusable. The solution automates data governance, which is handled via manual procedures in most businesses. DAtAnchor also provides a complete data trail, in order to substantially reduce the overhead in meeting numerous compliance regulations on data security, including HIPAA and GDPR. DAtAnchor began beta testing and onboarding customers earlier this year. Initial clients come from a wide variety of sectors including legal, financial services and healthcare.
OIF led the formation of the investor group and its principals have been instrumental at every stage of DAtAnchor’s development. In addition, OIF’s Managing Director Bill Baumel will act as an ongoing board member and advisor as DAtAnchor’s offering is brought to market. Michael Hughes, OIF Venture Advisor, Chief Commercial & Revenue Office at ChargePoint and former SVP of Worldwide Sales & Service at Barracuda, will also serve on DAtAnchor’s board. DAtAnchor is the second Ohio State spin-off in which OIF has invested and it is the thirteenth portfolio company to join its roster of high-growth, Ohio-based companies.
“We are extremely proud of the role we are playing in the development of DAtAnchor, and especially gratified to be a part of building a formidable technology company from the ground up,” said Bill Baumel, OIF’s Managing Director. “Our unique relationship with The Ohio State University was a key factor in our relationship with DAtAnchor. We look forward to having a significant impact on how companies manage and secure their data going forward.”
Dundee Venture Capital, an Omaha-based VC firm known for leading seed rounds in the fastest growing tech startups in the Midwest, has also invested in DAtAnchor. Partner, Greg Beaufait, says Dundee is confident the DAtAnchor team will change the future of data consumption and protection.
“The old security model to guard assets – secure the “digital perimeter” – is archaic and irrelevant in today’s hyper-connected world,” Beaufait explains. ”DAtAnchor’s crypto-technology will fundamentally change the way enterprises interact with, disseminate, and govern data.”
DAtAnchor’s founder, Emre Koksal, is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Ohio State. He received his Ph.D. degree from MIT in 2003, and joined Ohio State in 2006. He has won multiple awards including the National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2011.
DAtAnchor is a unique solution to the problem of data loss that companies inevitably face. “Most companies concentrate on data loss prevention, but DAtAnchor is focused on securing the data as it moves, enforced by a number of automated services, without a need for any manual processes for governance. Via strong encryption, we enable data access within and revocation outside of granular boundaries, characterized using physical and logical rules specified by the business according to their needs,” explained Koksal. “This is our differentiator, and, frankly, a real game-changer. Typically, certain rules are set down, and it is necessary to trust the people who have access to the data to follow those rules. DAtAnchor eliminates that variable.”
DAtAnchor’s software has strong encryption and authentication, with highly granular monitoring that dictates who may access which pieces of data and where. Security is embedded within the data itself, so that if data is moved, the encryption is seamlessly moved along with it and the data remains protected, no matter where it goes. In addition, the data’s real-time analysis works well with all applications.
The SaaS-based software created by Koksal was developed through a $70,000 Accelerator Award, funding for which is provided by a joint grant between The State of Ohio Development Services Agency and Ohio State. The university was involved with the licensing and patenting of the technology that DAtAnchor has licensed, and through the license agreement, the university’s technology transfer arm, the Ohio State Innovation Foundation, obtained part ownership of the new company.
“We are proud that Ohio State faculty are developing solutions to some of society's most complex problems, and Dr. Koksal’s research is a prime example of that," said Scott Osborne, Ohio State’s interim vice president of corporate engagement. “We are thrilled that Dr. Koksal’s technology has been spun out of the university as an Ohio State startup.”
The monthly DAtAnchor subscription will be available through a simple download and easy configuration. It will initially be targeted for companies that are subject to compliance regulations, including law firms, financial companies, and healthcare institutions. For more information, visit DAtAnchor at datanchor.net.
About DAtAnchor
DAtAnchor is a novel crypto-technology that provides seamless and easy to use strong encryption, automated data governance, and dynamic access control and revocation capabilities, enabling businesses to protect their sensitive data, even when it may be exfiltrated. DAtAnchor is a universal solution, protecting all data types, along with any application used to secure it. It is very easy to set up and DAtAnchor seamlessly integrates with any existing cloud-based security solution or distributed storage system. DAtAnchor substantially reduces the overhead associated with data security compliance requirements.
About The Ohio Innovation Fund
The Ohio Innovation Fund (OIF) provides venture capital and strategic, operational, and financial expertise to high-growth companies in the SaaS, Data Science, Cyber Security, and Med Tech markets. With more than twenty years of Silicon Valley venture capital experience, and close ties with a significant network of key Silicon Valley leaders, the partners of OIF have successful exits via several multi-billion-dollar valuation Initial Public Offerings as well as acquisitions by companies such as Medtronic, Dell, SAP, Intuit, and Stryker. CNN, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal have featured OIF’s companies. For more information please visit www.ohioinnovationfund.com.
Contact:
oif@bocacommunications.com