A team of Edinburgh Napier University cybersecurity experts have taken their fight against impersonation scams to the next level after setting up their own company.

Their new spinout venture, LastingAsset, uses cryptographic encryption and AI to help prevent fraud perpetrated by rogue actors who impersonate an organisation or individual.

According to Napier, the cryptography-based verification process, which includes the use of public-key cryptography and homomorphic encryption, that LastingAsset has developed could help clients and customers verify that they are speaking to a legitimate caller.

Having spent months developing their product, the LastingAsset team have begun exploring pilots with early adopter customers, and recently participated in a Scottish Enterprise programme to test the American market.

The company’s mission to ‘eliminate imposter fraud’ by bringing trust back to voice and video calls comes at a crucial moment as AI-powered deepfake technology becomes more sophisticated.

Research shows that fraud attempts utilising deepfakes have increased by 2,137% over the last three years, with a recent Scottish study warning that advances in AI voice technology could even be exploited to target unsuspecting victims by incorporating regional accents. 

“In an era of AI, there are so many opportunities to integrate privacy and digital trust into our online world,” said Professor Bill Buchanan, LastingAsset’s co-founder and chief innovator.

“Our vision is to create systems which respect the rights of privacy of citizens, but where we can still address challenges around financial fraud and identity theft.

“We are aiming to build automated systems which can be trusted from a human and a technical level.”

The business began life as a cybersecurity project to protect digital assets, initially developed by Napier academics Dr Zakwan Jaroucheh and renowned cryptography expert Professor Buchanan. 

The expanded team includes co-founder and CEO Nanik Ramchandani, newly appointed Chief Operating Officer Ciara Mitchell and Senior Software Engineer Dmitri Timoshenko. 

Since establishing the project more than two years ago, the LastingAsset team have been backed by funding from Scottish Enterprise’s High Growth Spinout Programme, Innovate UK, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Data Lab. 

Their work has also drawn award recognition from Converge, with the company claiming the Cisco Future Tech Award in 2023.

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By spinning out, LastingAsset joins a host of cyber-focused companies that began life as projects at Napier University, including the likes of digital forensics specialist Cyacomb, anti-ransomware tech provider MemCrypt, and cybersecurity firm ZoneFox, acquired by Fortinet in 2018.

“We are so proud of LastingAsset, which exemplifies our ambition to foster innovation, translate our research into real-world impact, and drive economic growth through groundbreaking technology,” said Fiona Mason, head of business engagement and IP commercialisation at Edinburgh Napier.

“Lasting Asset’s fraud detection is set to deliver significant benefits to people’s lives, by making everyday phone communications more trustworthy for everyone.”

Image Credit – Edinburgh Napier University