Shift5

History

2021: Former IB specialists of the NSA created a company to protect trains and tanks from cyber attacks

In mid-October 2021, specialists who had experience with the US National Security Agency (NSA) in the field of information security ( IS) created their own company Shift5 to protect trains and tanks from cyber attacks. The company monitors so-called operational technologies, such as systems that support the operation of vehicles or weapons systems.

Lospinoso and Weigand, as well as a third co-founder and another veteran military technician, James Correnti, apply the knowledge gained while working at the NSA and US US Cybercom to Shift5, which promises to ensure the safety of technologies used in American transport and military systems.

Former NSA IB specialists created Shift5 to protect trains and tanks from cyber attacks

On October 12, 2021, Shift5 announced a $20 million funding round. Funds are planned to be spent on increasing the staff of specialists and improving the product.

Shift5 notes any anomalies so that military and railway companies, as well as other customers, can verify their safety, reliability and accessibility. Explaining the threat, Lospinoso said that when his team checked the security of various infrastructure systems, in each case they were vulnerable to significant cyber attacks. Even if not connected to the network, potential attacks could be made, which could be carried out at a distance of up to 161 km using a program-controlled radio receiver and a directional antenna.

The company has already concluded multimillion-dollar contracts with the US military, in particular, a project to develop a prototype security system for tanks. On October 12, 2021, Shift5 also announces a new contract with the US Army Office of Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies to install the company's commercial technology on army combat vehicles. Shift5 also works with the US Air Force to develop safe data transmission on fighters and creates a prototype data analysis for the US Air Force to ensure cyber stability of weapons systems, as follows from open contract data.

In the private sector, Shift5 has achieved the greatest success in the railway industry. Although the company refused to name customers, Lospinoso, who along with Weigand also worked at the Pentagon Cyber Command, said that Shift5 helps protect trains in the United States with several of its large-scale systems, as for aircraft, the company has yet to master this direction.

Jen Tisdale, senior director of cyber systems at GRIMM, a cybersecurity company, says that the military cannot sit idly by and wait for opponents to try to attack the country's weapons systems or critical infrastructure, so companies like Shift5 are needed, although it failed to test startup technology to see how well it protects systems.^[1]

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