Crossword Cybersecurity acquires CyberASAP alumnus

Crossword Cybersecurity plc has announced its acquisition of the whole of the share capital of CyberASAP alumnus Verifiable Credentials Limited (VCL), the provider of Identiproof™, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) verifiable credentials compatible middleware and wallet technology, with whom Crossword is already working.

Identiproof, VCL’s middleware technology suite of products, is a key component in verifiable credentials systems such as COVID-19 status certificates and their issuer, verifier, and wallet applications. Identiproof is currently being used in a UK Government funded trial of COVID-19 certificates for East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) which Crossword is also involved in, separately for a client in the entertainment sector, and with another client in the United Arab Emirates.

Identiproof will become Crossword’s third product, joining Rizikon and Nixer in the portfolio, as a cryptography based cyber security product.

Tom Ilube, CEO of Crossword Cybersecurity plc, commented: “VCL has unique knowledge and a fantastic product in the new era of W3C verifiable credentials – which can and should power COVID certificates as well as all manner of digital, secure and privacy-respecting credentials, certificates, tickets and proofs of ownership. We know Professor Chadwick and his start-up team well from CyberASAP and believe Identiproof is a perfect fit for Crossword as our third product. This acquisition comes at a time when we are experiencing great success from strategies to increase Rizikon market penetration, particularly the launch of Rizikon Pro. In the last 6 months this has increased 10 fold, with the number of Rizikon users exceeding 250.”

David Chadwick, CEO of Verifiable Credentials Limited, commented: ”Identiproof is unique in the market and with Crossword’s great structure, connections and sales team – we’re expecting to achieve excellent revenue growth.”

Emma Fadlon, co Director of CyberASAP at KTN, said: ”It’s fantastic to see such a successful outcome in a very short period of time - this not only demonstrates the quality of the product and the proposition, but also shows how these early stage companies can be smart and agile enough to pivot and respond to changing market needs, VCL’s work with Covid-19 certificates being a real case in point“.

More about CyberASAP

The only pre-seed accelerator programme in the cybersecurity ecosystem, CyberASAP (Cyber Security Academic Startup Accelerator Programme) provides expertise, knowledge and support to convert academic ideas into commercial products in the cybersecurity space.

CyberASAP is funded by DCMS and delivered in partnership by Innovate UK and KTN.