$1.8 M Advanced Research Project Agency - Health Contract Award
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE UK VERSION OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION NO 596/2014 WHICH IS PART OF ENGLISH LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018, AS AMENDED. ON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
22 February 2024
NARF INDUSTRIES PLC ("NARF", the "Company", or the "Group")
Awarded $1.8 Million US Healthcare Cyber Security Contract
Proactive Approach to Malware Risk in Electronic Health Records ("EHR")
Narf Industries plc ("Narf", the "Company", or the "Group"), (LSE: NARF) (OTCQB: NFIN.F) the cybersecurity group specializing in high-end threat intelligence and critical infrastructure security, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $1.8 million contract from the US Government's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).
Under this contract awarded by ARPA-H, NARF will work on the Digital Health Security (DIGIHEALS[i]) programme titled "Electronic Health Record Format for Interoperable Secure Transformation (EHR-FIST)". This work leverages NARF's cutting-edge capabilities developed under its multi-million dollar SAFEDOC's contracts sponsored by another leading government agency, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency ("DARPA").
The DIGIHEALS initiative supports innovative research that aims to protect the U.S. health care system's electronic infrastructure against hostile threats. SAFEDOCS has the same goal, but focused on standard business document formats, like PDFs. The complexities in these file format create opportunities for attackers to hide malicious code. In the case of DIGIHEALS, the hundreds of health care management software applications that process EHR are vulnerable to these advanced threats and put hospitals and patients at risk from ransomware and disruption of health services.
NARF is advancing innovative capabilities that detects malware risk buried deep within complex document structures before its launched and used by applications that can then infect critical infrastructure networks. Under these research agency funded contracts, NARF owns the intellectual property (IP) for commercial purposes and is constructing an array of disruptive advanced threat detection capabilities to form a next generation threat intelligence platform.
Dr. Michael Locasto, Director, NARF Government Research and Development (GR&D) Sector commented. "These research agencies rely on NARF's game changing approaches to keep pace with evolving threats. This is our inaugural contract with ARPA-H and we are now working to expand our relationships across the many other government and private research agencies involved in critical infrastructure security."
Steve Bassi, CEO of NARF commented: "It's the cumulative value and synergistic nature of these incremental research awards that's important to recognize in NARF's strategy to leverage non-dilutive research work into commercial products. Over 75% of this year's revenue, multi-million dollars, is directly contributing to our IP pipeline and creating the foundation for a new generation of threat intelligence and vulnerability solutions."
For further information visit www.narfgroup.com or contact:
Narf Industries plc
John Herring
jh@narfgroup.com
Joint Broker
Canaccord Genuity Limited
Simon Bridges
Harry Rees
Tel: +44 (0) 207 523 8000
Joint Broker
Tennyson Securities plc
Peter Krens
Tel: +44 (0)207 186 9030
Financial PR, UK
St Brides Partners
Paul Dulieu
Isabel de Salis
narf@stbridespartners.co.uk
About NARF Industries plc
Narf Industries (LSE: NARF) (OTCQB: NFIN.F) is a US based leading provider of cybersecurity research, solutions, and services to government entities. With a steadfast commitment to protecting national security and critical infrastructure, it offers comprehensive expertise in addressing the evolving cyber threats faced by its clients.
