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INTELLIGENCE FUSION: Demand soars for firm flagging danger spots and exposing fake intel


From charting terrorist incidents and social unrest to plotting stabbings, drug networks, kidnappings and paedophile activity, the Durham-based company “helps security and intelligence teams across the world protect people, assets like energy supplies and reputations”, says founder and chief executive Michael McCabe. An ex-Army officer he set it up five years ago with the aim of delivering the reliable data he lacked when serving in Iraq.

With the benefit of sophisticated satellite technology, it now tracks over 10,000 incidents a month for clients, who include security multinational G4S and hotels site booking.com.

Its intelligence details enhanced threats and changing situations on the ground, monitors escalations and exposes fake reports, an area of rising concern for the time, money and effort required to combat them. 

By teaming the company’s bespoke software platform with publicly available data and crowdsourcing intelligence “we increase the volume, accuracy and quality of data,” explains McCabe. 

“We’re only a small company, but benefit hugely from internships we have created with universities. That is enabling us to collect five times more intel than most other intelligence providers.

“We utilise a broader range of sources and fuse the speed and data-mining of artificial intelligence with our team that’s trained to military intelligence standards.

“Every single source on our platform is being individually graded for credibility and reliability to ensure the most comprehensive reliable feed.”

Initially he thought customers would come from the Middle East and Africa, but aside from more obvious individual examples such as large traders wondering what to do next in Venezuela, it is terrorism and unrest in Europe leading the search by firms for better intel.

“Sweden has been on the radar as well as France and Germany,” he adds. “New Zealand wasn’t but Australia is and the latest attacks might prove the case for that.”

Currently signing off a new £750,000 private investment deal which will enable the live 24/7 analysis, increase staff numbers from six to 24 and expand its sales division, Intelligence Fusion is forecasting a £494,000 turnover next year.

The “slow moving beasts” of the commercial security slow to adapt to the changing threat landscape gave McCabe his foothold, he says. 

He was able to consolidate that with new local resources and backing from Business Durham, the economic development body for the county council.

Intelligence Fusion is also one of four firms involved in the Situational Awareness Information National Technology Service (SAINTS) that enables organisations to see the big picture at critical moments such as a terrorist attack. 

SAINTS in turn is the product of the North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence, operated by Business Durham, bringing public and private organisations together to capitalise on data from space.

“The human element of intelligence is irreplaceable,” says McCabe, “as we expand internationally we plan to be as disruptive as possible.”

www.intelligencefusion.co.ukwww.businessdurham.co.uk



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