The EU pinpoints S2 Grupo as one of the cybersecurity companies with most growth potential in Europe Brussels has chosen 155 European companies to be included in the so-called SME Instrument, created to give backing to the most innovative companies. With European backing, S2 Grupo will keep developing Captor, the first system for fighting Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) created with Spanish technology. Madrid, 9th September 2014. S2 Grupo, a Spanish company specializing in cybersecurity, has been included by the European Union in their SME Instrument program, being awarded 50,000 euros for starting their development of Captor, the first defense system against advanced persistent threats created entirely in Spain. SME Instrument comes under the auspices of the Horizon 2020 R&D program set up to finance the most innovative small and middle-sized European companies with the biggest potential for growth. With the initial financing, which can be increased to up to two million euros, S2 Grupo will launch their market study for Captor, the first system for fighting persistent cyberthreats created entirely with Spanish technology. APTs, the technical name for these threats, represent a more sophisticated type of attack on an organization perpetrated by cybercriminals, cyberterrorists or enemy governments. “APTs represent the next stage in the sophistication of information technology threats. An APT is not only malicious software. An APT is a set of technological methodologies and tools with which an attacker plans and executes a sophisticated attack against a specific objective to glean valuable information or affect a critical facility”, explains Miguel Ángel Juan, managing partner from S2 Grupo and the head of their R&D projects. A total of 2,666 companies competed from all over Europe to take part in this program, which makes it easier for European SMEs to develop high level innovation initiatives. Only 155 were chosen. Only six of those are cybersecurity companies. S2 Grupo has spent over 10 years working in the field of cybersecurity, where they have become one of the leading companies due largely to constant investment in R&D. Ramiro de Maeztu 7 46022 Valencia Spain T. (+34) 902 882 992 Velázquez,150-2ª planta 28002 Madrid Spain T. (+34) 902 882 992 Calle 99 # 9A-80, Of. 704 Bogotá DC Colombia T. (+57) 3176471096 [email protected] www.s2grupo.com www.securityartwork.es At the moment, the company leads the Muses European consortium, working to develop a multi-device corporate security system, also partially financed by European funds. “Innovation in cybersecurity products is one of the main factors contributing to our company’s success. Until now, the most important research areas we have worked on have been event monitoring and correlation and operational intelligence”, explains Miguel Ángel Juan. “Nowadays, having locally designed technology against global threats is vital, especially for our public institutions”, he added. Ramiro de Maeztu 7 46022 Valencia Spain T. (+34) 902 882 992 Velázquez,150-2ª planta 28002 Madrid Spain T. (+34) 902 882 992 Calle 99 # 9A-80, Of. 704 Bogotá DC Colombia T. (+57) 3176471096 [email protected] www.s2grupo.com www.securityartwork.es