An Edinburgh company has launched a data security business which could seriously disrupt how digital information is kept safe yet accessible in the cloud.

Over 8 billion data records were compromised last year, according to Cyborn Limited and one in three people have had their privacy exposed by breaches of personal data they trusted organisations to protect.

Ionburst, developed by Cyborn with support from Innovate UK, dissolves data of any type into a stream of anonymous particles. These particles are distributed across multiple cloud stores, improving data security, privacy and recoverability.

No data is ever duplicated, giving immediate carbon and cost benefits. Particles are completely contextless, worthless to hackers but recoverable by legitimate owners immediately, at any time. Cyborn says it is the first technology to give organisations customised control over how to protect sensitive and customer data.

Ionburst is capable of protecting cloud, network, IoT or personal data, across markets as varied as healthcare, defence and online enterprise.

For high-security applications, Ionburst’s ‘active data defence’ constantly moves data and code, thwarting the most determined hackers.

The company received £153,000 of funding from an Innovate UK Smart Grant for a nine-month project which saw the team convert its design blueprint into a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution.

The project finished in August 2019, and Ionburst is now being used commercially by its first customers on Amazon Web Services.

CEO and founder David Lanc, who was instrumental in the UK’s Chip and PIN roll-out while an executive director at RBS, set up Cyborn in 2018.

A US subsidiary and management team are based in Michigan, and a partnership based in Australia, but Dr Lanc credits Innovate UK support for persuading him to remain in Britain. He expects to add some 30 jobs in the UK over five years.

Dr Lanc said: “Strong US market interest justified us commercialising and distributing Ionburst through a US company and management. Thanks to the project, we can deliver Ionburst to American market specification, managing it from the UK.”

“The grant from Innovate UK was massive for us. If we hadn’t won the award we’d be based in the US by now. It absolutely kept the business in this country.”

Ionburst’s appeal is its ability to turn data and code into “a constantly moving target”.

“Our only problem is that people say it’s too good to be true – but we proved that it works.”

TV commercials highlighting policing’s central role in the community will air today, alongside fresh social media adverts designed to attract applicants from a variety of backgrounds.

The campaign aims to capitalise on the community spirit shown by the British public during the coronavirus pandemic, which presents an unprecedented opportunity for people to make a difference by joining the police.

Thousands of additional officers have already been recruited and are supporting the emergency services’ response to the virus.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

Getting more police officers on the streets to keep us all safe is an absolute priority for the British people – and this government.

The heroic efforts of officers up and down the country have been crucial in protecting the NHS and saving lives during this pandemic.

There’s never been a better time to join the police to make a difference in your community.

The Home Secretary recently held a call with new recruits from Lancashire Constabulary, who told her that they had the “best job in the world” and that a career policing was “more important than ever” in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 3,000 additional officers joined the police’s ranks from the beginning of the campaign to the end of March 2020, putting the government on track to meets its target of 6,000 by March 2021.

Since then police forces have been reporting an increase in applications amid the coronavirus pandemic.

West Midlands Police has seen record numbers apply to be student police officers, 75% higher than its normal average, with as many women applying for this role as men – a first in the force’s history.

Chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Martin Hewitt, said:

This TV commercial is an exciting first for policing, informing a wide TV audience that we continue to recruit for police officers. We want everyone to know that we are open for recruitment.

The pandemic has presented everyone with new challenges but it is essential that we continue to build our policing capacity by attracting and training new police officers. Now is a great time to consider whether you could make your difference by joining our ranks.

The College of Policing has also recently announced the rollout of new online assessment centres, which will ensure that recruitment continues at pace during the coronavirus outbreak.

The online assessment process will take candidates through situational judgement tests, briefing exercises and interviews. Forces are already trialling this platform and the service will be available to forces in England and Wales from June.

New recruits are receiving prioritised training so they can be safely deployed to the frontline and support the police’s emergency response in 7 to 8 weeks, rather than the usual 12 to 16.

Tanya Wilkins, Detective Chief Inspector at West Yorkshire Police, said:

Being a police officer was a childhood ambition and I am proud to wear the uniform.

No two days are ever the same, each day you learn and expect the unexpected. But the thing I love most about my job is helping other people and making a real difference.

I would encourage anyone, from any background, to consider joining and serving within the policing family.

• loans under the expanded scheme will be made available to large businesses affected by coronavirus from next week
• changes also mean companies receiving help through CLBILS and the Bank of England’s Coronavirus Corporate Financing Fund will be asked to agree to not pay dividends and to exercise restraint on senior pay

Businesses will be able to benefit from larger loans under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), the government announced today.

The maximum loan size available under the scheme will be increased from £50 million to £200 million to help ensure those large firms which do not qualify for the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) have enough finance to meet cashflow needs during the outbreak.

The expanded loans, which have been introduced following discussions with lenders and business groups, will be available from 26 May.

John Glen, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said:

We’re determined to support businesses of all sizes throughout this crisis and our loans and guarantees have already provided over £32 billion to thousands of firms.

Today we’re increasing the maximum loan to £200 million to make sure companies get the help they need.

Businesses have benefitted from over £32 billion in loans and guarantees to support their cashflow during the crisis. This includes 268,000 Bounce Back Loans worth £8.3 billion, 36,000 loans worth over £6 billion through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and £359 million through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, alongside £18.7 billion through the CCFF.

Companies borrowing more than £50 million through CLBILS will be subject to restrictions on dividend payments, senior pay and share buy-backs during the period of the loan, including a ban on dividend payments and cash bonuses, except where they were previously agreed.

These restrictions will also apply to CCFF participants that wish to borrow money beyond 12 months from today. This will ensure that the money is used to keep the company going through the crisis. The Bank will also publish a list of companies who have benefitted under CCFF on 4 June.

Further Information

• borrowers under CLBILS will be able to borrow up to 25% of turnover, up to a maximum of £200 million
• lenders who wish to offer larger loans will need to undergo further accreditation checks

The restrictions in place will include:

• Dividends: Borrowers cannot make any dividend payments
• Share buyback: Borrowers agree any share buybacks
• Executive pay: Borrowers cannot pay any cash bonuses or award any pay rises to senior management (including the board) except where they were a) declared before the CLBILS loan was taken out, b) is in keeping with similar payments made in the preceding 12 months, and c) does not have a material negative impact on the borrower’s ability to repay the loan.

Further information on CLBILS can be found: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-schemes/clbils/

Further information on CCFF can be found: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/covid-corporate-financing-facility

The Government has this morning (19 May) announced the UK’s new MFN tariff regime, the UK Global Tariff (UKGT). This will replace the EU’s Common External Tariff on 1 January 2021 at the end of the Transition Period.

Our new tariff is tailored to the needs of the UK economy. It will support the economy by making it easier and cheaper for businesses to import goods from overseas. It is a simpler, easier to use and lower tariff regime than the EU’s Common External Tariff (EU CET) and will be in pounds (£), not euros. It will scrap red tape and other unnecessary barriers to trade, reduce cost pressures and increase choice for consumers and back UK industries to compete on the global stage.

The Government is taking a common-sense approach to our new tariff schedule by streamlining and simplifying nearly 6,000 tariff lines, and lowering costs for businesses by reducing administrative burdens. The changes include scrapping unnecessary tariff variations, rounding tariffs down to standardised percentages, and getting rid of all “nuisance tariffs” (those below 2%).

We are also getting rid of the EU’s complex Meursing table, allowing us to scrap thousands of unnecessary tariff variations on products – including over 13,000 tariff variations on products like biscuits, waffles, pizzas, quiches, confectionery, and spreads.

The UKGT also expands tariff free trade by eliminating tariffs on a wide range of products. The UKGT ensures that 60% of trade will come into the UK tariff free on WTO terms or through existing preferential access from January 2021, and successful FTA negotiations will increase this.

This will lower costs for businesses, ensuring they can compete on fair terms with the rest of the world, as well as keeping prices down and increasing choice for consumers.

The Government is maintaining tariffs on a number of products backing UK industries such as agriculture, automotive and fishing. This will help to support businesses in every region and nation of the UK to thrive. Some tariffs are also being maintained to support imports from the world’s poorest countries that benefit from preferential access to the UK market.

The UKGT was designed following widespread engagement with businesses across the UK. As it will come into force on 1 January 2021, it’s important that businesses can familiarise themselves with the new tariff regime ahead of this date.

We are backing UK industry by:

• Maintaining tariffs on agricultural products such as lamb, beef, and poultry.
• Maintaining a 10% tariff on cars.
• Maintaining tariffs for the vast majority of ceramic products.
• Removing tariffs on £30 billion worth of imports entering UK supply chains. 0% tariffs on products used in UK production, including copper alloy tubes (down from 5.2%) and screws and bolts (down from 3.7%).

UK consumers will also benefit from more choice and lower costs on numerous goods thanks to zero tariffs. These include, for example:

• Dishwashers (down from 2.7%).
• Freezers (down from 2.5%).
• Sanitary products and tampons (down from 6.3%).
• Paints (down from 6.5%) and screwdrivers (down from 2.7%).
• Mirrors (down from 4%).
• Scissors and garden shears (down from 4.7%).
• Padlocks (down from 2.7%).
• Cooking products such as baking powder (down from 6.1%), yeast (down from 12%), bay leaves (down from 7%), ground thyme (down from 8.5%) and cocoa powder (down from 8%).
• Christmas trees (down from 2.5%).

We will promote a sustainable economy by cutting tariffs on over 100 products to back renewable energy, energy efficiency, carbon capture, and the circular economy. The following are all dropping to zero tariffs:

• Thermostats (down from 2.1%).
• Vacuum flasks (down from 6.7%).
• LED lamps (down from 3.7%).
• Bike inner tubes (down from 4%).

Almost all pharmaceuticals and most medical devices (including ventilators) are tariff free in the UKGT. However, some products used to fight COVID-19 maintain a tariff. To ensure those working on the frontline can access vital equipment easily, the UK has introduced a temporary zero tariff rate on these products. This relief waives the tariff and VAT for personal protective equipment (PPE), medical devices, disinfectant and medical supplies from non-EU countries. The Government is committed to continuing to waive the tariffs on key COVID-19 items should this be necessary upon implementation of the UKGT in 2021. A list of goods that relief can be claimed on can be found on GOV.UK: COVID-19 Commodity Codes List.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said:

For the first time in 50 years we are able to set our own tariff regime that is tailored to the UK economy.

Our new Global Tariff will benefit UK consumers and households by cutting red tape and reducing the cost of thousands of everyday products.

With this straightforward approach, we are backing UK industry and helping businesses overcome the unprecedented economic challenges posed by Coronavirus.

Notes to Editors