In my role, I spend a lot of time looking at how the threat landscape is shifting. With GenAI accelerating automated attacks and weaponizing vulnerabilities at scale, traditional static security controls just don't cut it anymore. Automated tools now probe API endpoints and architectures faster than human teams can patch them, rendering basic obfuscation and perimeter defenses obsolete.To protect modern mobile ecosystems, engineering teams must adopt dynamic, adversarial security controls that continuously test and adapt to emerging threat vectors in real time.
To stay ahead, we need to build dynamic, adversarial resilience directly into our development lifecycle. That is why I’m delighted to announce our new 30-month Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Edinburgh Napier University (ENU), co-funded by Innovate UK. The project recently earned the highest rating in Innovate UK’s competitive assessment round, serving as a clear endorsement of its scope, ambition, and technical vision.
Bridging Academic Excellence and Industry Defense
What excites me most about this partnership is how naturally it bridges our engineering needs with ENU’s exceptional research ecosystem. The collaboration pairs Approov’s globally recognized mobile security technology with ENU’s academic research ecosystem. As an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE) recognized by the UK National Cyber Security Centre and DSIT, Edinburgh Napier brings an incredible track record of driving applied innovation and spinning out top-tier cybersecurity capability.
This collaboration directly involves the ENU-hosted Scottish Centre of Excellence in Digital Trust and Distributed Ledger Technology. As Professor Bill Buchanan OBE, Director of the Centre, noted when discussing the initiative, combining Approov’s mobile security platform with ENU’s academic research allows us to advance innovation in cryptography and digital trust. By establishing a dedicated test bed to build and rigorously evaluate new methods, we can better protect users at a time when GenAI is increasingly being used to break software systems.
Red vs. Blue: A Dual-Role Approach to Cyber Resilience
At the core of the partnership is the recruitment of two specialized cyber security researchers who will operate in complementary roles:
- The Blue Team: Focused on designing and building advanced cryptographic defense mechanisms to secure mobile apps and APIs.
- The Red Team: Operating as an offensive test bed to continuously stress-test, probe, and challenge those defensive boundaries.
By continuously pitting new defenses against real-world attack tactics, we are building a dedicated environment to stress-test and harden our security long before it hits production.
Dr. Anne-Marie Haughey, Manager of the East of Scotland KTP Centre, highlighted the value of this structure, noting that the project tackles critical emerging challenges while creating long-term capabilities that support ongoing industry competitiveness and growth.
Setting a New Standard for Mobile App Protection
Protecting APIs from unauthorized access, bot networks, tampered apps, and rogue AI agents requires constant vigilance. By stress-testing our underlying technologies alongside ENU’s world-class researchers, we are making sure our defensive suite stays well ahead of sophisticated attackers.
As the 30-month project kicks off, this collaboration stands as a prime example of how industry and academia can pool their strengths to shape the future of digital trust and smartphone safety.
Jae Hossell
CTO of Approov
As an expert software architect and engineer, Jae brings a profound understanding of computer architecture, algorithms, data structures, and systems design. Over two decades of experience have allowed Jae to master a diverse range of technologies and skills including novel architectures, embedded and mobile operating systems, compilers, virtual machines, desktop applications, and comprehensive full-stack cloud-based services. Jae’s app-security expertise has evolved over the last 10 years, as he has immersed himself in the app-security space to continually advance and develop the Approov mobile security solution.