News Release: DHS S&T Announces Commercialization of Malware Detection Technology

WASHINGTON —April 28, 2017–The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) today announced the transition of a malware detection technology to the commercial marketplace as a result of its participation in the S&T’s Transition to Practice (TTP) program.

Hyperion, initially developed by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is a malware forensics, detection, and software assurance technology that can quickly detect malicious behavior in software not previously identified as a threat. It has been licensed by Lenvio, a cybersecurity firm based in Manassas, Virginia.

“The commercialization of Hyperion builds on TTP’s previous successes in transitioning technologies to the marketplace and shows that the TTP program is making a direct impact on improving cybersecurity in the public and private sectors,” said DHS Under Secretary (Acting) for Science and Technology Dr. Robert Griffin.

In 2012, the TTP program selected Hyperion for inclusion in its inaugural TTP class for further development and validation to accelerate transition of the technology. The unique feature of Hyperion is that it calculates the behavior of software to detect the presence of malware. Hyperion was selected from among thousands of nominations and named an R&D 100 Award honoree in 2015. Since 1963, the R&D 100 Awards have celebrated the greatest R&D developments of the previous year.

Hyperion was licensed nonexclusively by R&K Cyber Solutions in 2015. R&K spun off its Hyperion business to form Lenvio in 2016 to focus on further development and commercialization. Through this exclusive license, Lenvio will now be able to position the Hyperion platform as a competitive product and keep growing the company.

The TTP program is administered by S&T’s Cyber Security Division’s (CSD), part of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, and complements the S&T process of funding projects through the full research-and-development lifecycle and into the commercial marketplace. Each fiscal year, the TTP program selects promising cybersecurity technologies developed with federal funding to incorporate into the 36-month transition-to-market program. The TTP program selects promising cybersecurity technologies from DOE National Labs, Department of Defense Labs, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, University Affiliated Research Centers, and universities.

Each year, approximately eight new technologies are selected by TTP and introduced to cybersecurity professionals around the country with the goal of connecting them to investors, developers, and integrators who can advance the technology and turn it into commercially viable products. To make these connections, TTP hosts “demonstration day” events around the country to showcase the technologies to companies including those from the energy, financial and government sectors; spur pilot opportunities; and start the technologies on the road to commercialization.

TTP has a total of 40 technologies in its program portfolio. Eight TTP technologies—Quantum Secured Communications, Hyperion (previously a nonexclusive license), Hone, NeMS, PathScan, PACRAT, LOCKMA, ZeroPoint—have successfully transitioned to the marketplace. 

“Commercial technology companies and technology investors should take note of the success of Hyperion because it shows that government-funded R&D technologies are viable solutions for today’s complex cybersecurity issues and that the TTP process is critical in bridging the gap between the lab and market for mature technologies,” says TTP Program Manager Nadia Carlsten. 

For more information about the TTP program and its technologies, visit the program’s webpage, view its video, review its technology guide, or email ST.TTP@hq.dhs.gov.

CSD’s mission is to enhance the security and resilience of the nation’s critical information infrastructure and the Internet by developing and delivering new technologies, tools and techniques to defend against cyberattacks. The division conducts and supports technology transitions and leads and coordinates R&D among DHS customers, government agencies, the private sector and international partners. For more information about CSD, visit https://www.dhs.gov/cyber-research.

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