Harry Potter puzzle helps Binarii Labs solve data security concerns

Binarii Labs, a Dublin-based IT security business, has launched its first product which is aimed at protecting data by ensuring no single file is ever kept completely in one place.

The business is based in NovaUCD in Dublin and was founded by Aidan Finn, Steven Garner, Nigel Carter and Ciarán McNamee in 2021. Binarii Labs has 20 staff and has raised €3 million in funding to date.

The company is focused on securing stakeholder data for businesses, using a form of fragmentation to make it difficult for cyberattackers to access it.

“We protect data, any data that users want to protect. Technically, we are an intervention when you upload data. Whatever data you wish to upload, we intervene to secure it,” Finn told the Business Post.

“Our systems create the back-up, it then splits up both the back-up and original into fragments. They are essentially mixed up in a mixing bowl, doing so in such a way that there is never a complete component of one file in a single cloud location.”

This means that every time a user views or retrieves said data, it takes the user through different storage locations. Binarii retains no access to the data, it simply facilitates the lodging and withdrawal of data securely.

The idea was inspired in part by the Harry Potter books. Garner was disillusioned with how data was stored from his own experience in the financial sector. A puzzle in the Harry Potter books, that involved seven pieces being hidden across the map, got him thinking about doing something along the same lines with data.

“How can anyone find the data if they don’t know where to look for it? We built a way to enable multi-cloud computing to be automated, digitised, instant and very usable for non-technical people. What we do behind the scenes is quite technical but onboarding and using it is quite straightforward,” Finn said.

The four co-founders began collaborating during the pandemic and didn’t get to meet in person until their second board meeting. Despite that they have been able to develop the business to deliver an enterprise friendly product.

“We’ve just released our first solution, called Cyqur, which is focused on protecting the likes of access credentials. We have signed up 50 resellers and the reception has been fantastic.

Binarii Labs is supported by Enterprise Ireland and is part of the high potential start-up unit (HPSU). Finn said the agency has provided valuable support to the company.

“Enterprise Ireland has 60 offices globally. That means they can help us reach out to many potential markets. We’ve primarily identified Asia, the UK, and the US. They have been huge in supporting us with boots on the ground and getting us introductions to relevant enterprises in those markets,” Finn said.

“Our aim is to have in excess of 40 staff employed in Ireland by the end of 2025. We have offices established in Asia and the UK and we’re in the process of establishing in the US. Our goal is to exceed €4 million in sales by the end of 2025 through that global outreach.”

This Making it Work article is produced in partnership with Enterprise Ireland