THE PARTNER: U2opia Technology, LLC (U2opia) 

THE PROBLEM: Malware infections and cyberattacks are rising in frequency, sophistication and severity. Existing defenses cannot keep up with the flood of new, advanced malware that tries to hide its presence by interfering with the operating system. Networks are regularly compromised, causing the loss of intellectual property, the disclosure of state secrets and billions of dollars in financial damages. In the deluge of data in today’s networks, operators need better tools to help identify suspicious behavior that bypasses automated security systems and to understand what makes the event suspicious. Technology that highlights such anomalous behavior in real time would help operators focus their limited time effectively. 

THE SOLUTION: Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) Cyber Resilience and Intelligence Division developed two powerful technologies, Heartbeat and Situ, that work independently or together to provide advanced cybersecurity monitoring in real time. The Heartbeat system detects otherwise invisible malware by monitoring the device’s power consumption: When any software runs, it uses more power, so an unexplained rise can be a red flag that malware has infected. Situ is a scalable, real-time cybersecurity platform that can quickly and effectively identify and explain suspicious activities that other technologies might miss. Situ uses constantly updated data to determine how likely it is that the suspicious activity is a threat and why, enhancing situation awareness. The technologies are efficient, flexible and user-friendly, and they deliver accurate data that alerts operators to only the most likely threats, reducing the demand on their time.  

THE TECH TRANSFER MECHANISM: From 2015 to 2021, the ORNL Technology Transfer Office (TTO) successfully filed five patents and two registered copyrights that cover this portfolio. In 2018, the Heartbeat research and commercialization team received funding through ORNL’s Technology Innovation Program (TIP), which helped advance technical development, industry engagement and marketing. In 2022, U2opia – a consortium of scientific, technology, and senior administrative executives with experience in industry and defense – began collaborating with ORNL scientists to develop a large-scale approach to curtailing massive cyber breaches in the U.S. A few months later, ORNL executed an Exclusive Research & Development (R&D) Patent and Copyright License/Option Agreement with U2opia for both the Heartbeat and Situ technologies.  

THE TECH TRANSFER EXCELLENCE: The overarching achievement in this T2 effort is U2opia’s highly proactive approach to the technology transfer in combination with support from the ORNL lab. While it’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to reach out to labs with a specific mission-oriented goal, the federal lab is typically the one to reach out to industry with a grand vision – but this case was different. U2opia’s persistence and innovation throughout the technology transfer process in combination with the mentorship from ORNL allowed for the development of a platform that satisfies the organizations’ shared vision to build a more cybersecure future. U2opia’s initiative is also paving the way for future collaborations between small businesses and the government, as they are building an agile roadmap for the technology transfer process. 

THE OUTCOMES: Since receiving the licensing package, U2opia has far exceeded what licensees typically accomplish with an R&D license. U2opia added an advisor on the technology transfer process, secured testing partners and worked toward completing commercialization testing of both technologies. Recognizing the challenges for small businesses going through the technology transfer process with a federal lab, U2opia has worked with ORNL leadership to create a roadmap of the process and pave the way for future collaboration. U2opia’s vision is to fully integrate the ORNL technologies into U2opia’s anomaly detection system to deliver advanced security capabilities, with a focus on government testing and healthcare systems.