Talk:Darktrace

Talk

I am about to make a couple of small factual changes to this page, which I believe are helpful and will fall under the category of non-controversial edits. The reason I mention this at all is in respect for the Wikipedia guidelines re: Conflict of Interest Editing. I am an employee of Darktrace and would like to make a few factual edits to current article about our company. I will cite sources wherever possible. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me at my discussion page if you have any questions. Many thanks. (unsigned by User:Mkwhelehan)

Thanks Mkwhelan. The article says that the company is a collaboration with Cambridge University mathematicians. Is there some more information about this? There are no Cambridge University mathematicians listed anywhere on the company website, as far as I can see. There are long lists of people on various boards and committees, but no Cambridge University mathematicians. Thanks. ComputScientist (talk) 22:53, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

Nationality

There seems to be a debate over the company's nationality. The registered office is clearly in the UK and the company's website says the company is based in Cambridge. I suggest that the debate takes place here on the talk page rather than there being continual edits and reversions over this. Dormskirk (talk) 11:36, 14 March 2022 (UTC)

Requested Edits

I would like to request a number of changes and additions to the Darktrace Wikipedia page. These changes and additions add more context and accurate information about Darktrace. For transparency, I am employee of Darktrace as disclosed within my profile, as such I feel it is appropriate to add these to the talk page, rather than directly to the article. All changes and additions below have been cited where possible. Thank you very much!

Extended content

Change (About):

Darktrace is a British cyber security company, established in 2013 and headquartered in Cambridge, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

TO

Darktrace is a British cyber security company, established in 2013 by mathematicians and cyber defense experts and is headquartered in Cambridge, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Darktrace began as an AI research centre and focuses on the application of AI to cyber security. Its Self-Learning AI’ utilises a number of AI techniques including self-learning techniques, deep-neural networks and Large Language Models to autonomously find and contain cyber-attacks.

Rational: This adds additional context about Darktrace, including the founding of the company along with information about its technology.

Changes (History):

Darktrace was founded in 2013 in Cambridge, though today its research function has reportedly moved to the Netherlands, in a collaboration with the British intelligence agencies and Invoke Capital, a company owned by Mike Lynch. Lynch was co-founder of Autonomy, sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 in a transaction leading to accusations of fraud and to a legal fight over extraditing him to the United States. In its stock market listing registration documents Darktrace rated the potential liability relating to the fallout of the action against Lynch as "low risk".

TO

Darktrace was founded in 2013 in Cambridge, where the Darktrace AI Research Centre is based, with the company’s second R&D centre located in The Hague, Netherlands. The AI Research Centre comprises more than 200 R&D employees. As of 05 December 2023, Darktrace has more than 2,200 employees located across more than 110 countries.

REMOVAL

It was founded in collaboration with the British intelligence agencies and Invoke Capital, a company owned by Mike Lynch. Lynch was co-founder of Autonomy, sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 in a transaction leading to accusations of fraud and to a legal fight over extraditing him to the United States. In its stock market listing registration documents Darktrace rated the potential liability relating to the fallout of the action against Lynch as "low risk".

Rational: It is factually incorrect that Darktrace was founded in collaboration with British Intelligence Agencies. In addition, reference to Mike Lynch and Autonomy are better places within Mike Lynch's Wikipedia page, and not Darktrace, as this isn't relevant to Darktrace as a company. I have also added in cited information about Darktrace's R&D employees, and company wide information.

+++

Report on accounting irregularities

TO

QCM short seller attack

Rational: This is a more accurate title and encompasses the history of the QMC short seller attack.

Additions (History):

In 2016, Darktrace launched RESPOND™ which delivers Autonomous Response across businesses, providing bespoke protection across IoT devices, SaaS and on-premises infrastructure.

Rational: This is an important milestone for Darktrace as it is a core product launch in 2016.

+++

In September 2019, Darktrace, announced the launch of the Cyber AI Analyst, a new technology that emulates human thought processes to continuously investigate cyber-threats. Darktrace’s Cyber AI Analyst uses supervised machine learning and deep neural networks with proprietary unsupervised machine learning applied to the underlying engine output. Natural Language Processing is used to produce the output of the complete incident investigation, and it also includes a proprietary LLM classifier to categorize malicious communications based on textual properties. In February 2022, Darktrace announced significant enhancements to its flagship Cyber AI Analyst product to intelligently group incidents to encompass the life cycle of complex compromises as

Rational: This is an important milestone for Darktrace as it was a launch of a new technology.

+++

Darktrace was named one of Fast Company’s 50 ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies’ of 2018, and one of the ‘Most Innovative Companies in Artificial Intelligence’ of 2022. Darktrace was also named one of TIME Magazine’s ‘Most Influential Companies’ 2021.

Rational: These are milestone moments in the history of Darktrace.

+++

In February 2020, Darktrace became the official AI cybersecurity partner for McLaren Racing. The cyber security company will be tasked with technical integration of its cyber artificial intelligence across the McLaren Group as well as McLaren Racing division, where Darktrace will protect the McLaren racing team against cyberattacks.

Rational: This was milestone moment in the history of Darktrace.

+++

In April 2021, Darktrace listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market value of circa £2.5 billion. The market value reached a peak of £7 billion within months, with a share value peak of £10, but later fluctuated. On 6 March 2022, Darktrace opened with a share value of £6.46, with a market cap of £3.43 billion.

ADD THE FOLLOWING LINE

In the first half-year results to be reported since the cybersecurity AI leader listed on the London Stock Exchange, it saw year-over-year growth of almost 40% in the number of customers, at least 45% in annual recurring revenue and at least 50% in revenue.

Rational: This adds additional and up-to-date financial context post float on the London Stock Exchange.

+++

In May 2021, Darktrace partnered with Microsoft to provide mutual customers with enterprise-scale, self-learning AI that detects and autonomously responds to cyber threats. The partnership provides enhanced security across multiplatform and multicloud environments, automates threat investigations, and enables teams to prioritise strategic tasks.

Rational: A major milestone in Darktrace's history.

+++

In January 2022, Darktrace announced that one of the world’s largest airlines has signed a major renewal with Darktrace as it continues to use Self-Learning AI technology to defend against cyber-attacks.

In February 2022, Darktrace announced that a leading global technology company has renewed its contract with Darktrace in a multi-million-dollar deal. The company elected to continue using Darktrace's Enterprise Immune System as the semiconductor industry, which has a strong focus on R&D and holds large volumes of commercially sensitive data, faces a growing level of attacks from both insider-threat and espionage-driven adversaries seeking to steal valuable IP and proprietary solutions.

Rational: Two major contract signings in the history of Darktrace.

+++

In July 2022, Darktrace lunched PREVENT™ which brings together several capabilities, including attack surface management, attack path modelling, breach and attack emulation, and pentest augmentation.

Rational: This is an important milestone for Darktrace as it is a core product launch in 2022.

+++

In July 2023, Darktrace launched HEAL™ which leverages Darktrace’s Self-Learning AI to give security teams new abilities designed to build cyber resilience and help them more easily and confidently address live incidents. Darktrace HEAL™ completes Darktrace’s Cyber AI Loop, which aims to deliver resilience throughout the cyber lifecycle from prevention, to detection, to response, and now to recovery.

Rational: This is an important milestone for Darktrace as it is a core product launch in 2023.

+++

On 18 July 2023, EY concluded its review into the company’s contracts and internal financial processes. EY found a “small number of errors and inconsistencies” with some of the contracts but nothing that would be “material” to Darktrace's financial statements. . Subsequently the share price rose 26%, up to 372p.

ADD THE FOLLOWING LINE

Subsequently the share price rose 26%, up to 372p.

Rational: This adds additional and up-to-date financial context following the EY review.

Changes (Products):

Darktrace's product uses unsupervised (in particular) machine learning techniques to build an intrinsic "pattern of life" for every network, device, and user within an organisation. From this evolving understanding of 'normal', it can then detect potential threats as they emerge in real time. It employs an autonomous response technology, Antigena, to take action against in-progress cyber-attacks. The product also visualises network activity on a user interface, called the 'Threat Visualiser'. Since the company's inception in 2013, its technology has been deployed some 9,000 times. Currently, Darktrace can cover Industrial Operational Technology, Email, SaaS, Cloud, Network, and Endpoint.

Darktrace has claimed that it has the capability to defend against zero-day attacks, for example some log4j attacks.

TO

Darktrace's product uses unsupervised (in particular) machine learning techniques to build an intrinsic "pattern of life" for every network, device, and user within an organisation. From this evolving understanding of 'normal', it can then detect potential threats as they emerge in real time. Darktrace’s products allow organizations to prevent, detect, respond to, and heal from cyber disruption across the enterprise.

PREVENT™ continuously monitors attack surfaces for risks, high-impact vulnerabilities and external threats.

DETECT™ analyzes thousands of metrics to reveal subtle deviations that may signal an evolving threat - even unknown techniques and novel malware.

It employs an autonomous response technology, RESPOND™, to take action against in-progress cyber-attacks. The product also visualises network activity on a user interface, called the 'Threat Visualiser'.

Darktrace HEAL™ uses AI to understand business data to ensure readiness to recover from an active cyber-attack and to rapidly restore the business to an operational state.

Since the company's inception in 2013, its technology has been deployed some 9,000 times. Currently, Darktrace can cover Industrial Operational Technology, Email, SaaS, Cloud, Network, and Endpoint.

Darktrace has claimed that it has the capability to defend against zero-day attacks, for example some log4j attacks.

Rational: These changes add important and accurate information about Darktrace's products that was previously missing.

+++

Remove picture of Emily Orton as she is no longer an the CMO or an employee of Darktrace and as a result is inaccurate.

Robbie1gavin (talk) 17:26, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

Hi - In my view, much of the material above is promotional, especially those bits that talk about awards and / or trade-marked new products etc. As regards the proposed deletions, in the past Darktrace was very keen to emphasise how closely Mike Lynch was involved in setting Darktrace up (see this). If that was true then, it must still be true now. But, I will let other editors comment. Dormskirk (talk) 18:53, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

There is nothing for me to add to Dormskirk's comment, which is perfectly stated. Regards,  Spintendo  21:56, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

Requested Edits - Amended

Thank you for the feedback on my previous requested edits. Following on for those, I’ve streamlined the requests and have edited to ensure that they are not promotional in tone. I’ve provided the requests below along with rationale and citations where possible. Once again for transparency, I am employee of Darktrace as disclosed within my profile. Thank you very much!

Change (About):

Darktrace is a British cyber security company, established in 2013 and headquartered in Cambridge, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

TO

Darktrace is a British cyber security company, established in 2013 and is headquartered in Cambridge, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Darktrace began as an AI research centre and focuses on the application of AI to cyber security. Its Self-Learning AI’ utilises a number of AI techniques including self-learning techniques, deep-neural networks and Large Language Models to autonomously find and contain cyber-attacks.

Rational: This adds additional context about Darktrace as a business, including the founding of the company along with general information about its technology to provide context.

Changes (History):

Darktrace was founded in 2013 in Cambridge, though today its research function has reportedly moved to the Netherlands, in a collaboration with the British intelligence agencies and Invoke Capital, a company owned by Mike Lynch. Lynch was co-founder of Autonomy, sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 in a transaction leading to accusations of fraud and to a legal fight over extraditing him to the United States. In its stock market listing registration documents Darktrace rated the potential liability relating to the fallout of the action against Lynch as "low risk".

TO

Darktrace was founded in 2013 in Cambridge, where the Darktrace AI Research Centre is based, with the company’s second R&D centre located in The Hague, Netherlands. The AI Research Centre comprises more than 200 R&D employees. It was founded by mathematicians and cyber defense experts and Invoke Capital, a company owned by Mike Lynch. Lynch was co-founder of Autonomy, sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 in a transaction leading to accusations of fraud and to a legal fight over extraditing him to the United States. In its stock market listing registration documents Darktrace rated the potential liability relating to the fallout of the action against Lynch as "low risk".

Rational: This adds additional context about Darktrace as a business, including the founding of the company, its research centres.

+++

By the end of 2013, as well as being a wholly owned subsidiary of Invoke Capital, Invoke Capital additionally provided 15 of Darktrace's 40 staff members.

TO

As of 05 December 2023, Darktrace has more than 2,200 employees located across more than 110 countries.

Rational: This provides an up-to-date information on Darktrace’s size as the previous entry is out of date, and as a result inaccurate.

Changes (Report on accounting irregularities):

[TITLE] Report on accounting irregularities

TO

[TITLE] QCM short seller attack

Rational: It is widely reported by major news outlets using the language "short seller attack", and "report on accounting irregularities". See here, here, and here along with Darktrace’s statement on the EY report. In addition, this is a more accurate title and encompasses the history of the QMC short seller attack.

Additions (History):

In 2016, Darktrace launched RESPOND™ which delivers Autonomous Response across businesses, followed by PREVENT™ in July 2022, which brings together several capabilities, including attack surface management, attack path modelling, breach and attack emulation, and pentest augmentation and HEAL™ in July 2023, designed to help security teams more easily and confidently address live incidents.

Rational: These products are a pivotal part of Darktrace’s history, the language used is not promotional in nature, only stating the facts around the technology and the date released.

+++

In September 2019, Darktrace, announced the launch of the Cyber AI Analyst, a new technology that emulates human thought processes to continuously investigate cyber-threats.

Rational: The same rational as above, this was a pivotal part of Darktrace’s history and stats factual information about the technology.

+++

In April 2021, Darktrace listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market value of circa £2.5 billion. The market value reached a peak of £7 billion within months, with a share value peak of £10, but later fluctuated. On 6 March 2022, Darktrace opened with a share value of £6.46, with a market cap of £3.43 billion.

ADD THE FOLLOWING LINE

In the first half-year results to be reported since the cybersecurity AI leader listed on the London Stock Exchange, it saw year-over-year growth of almost 40% in the number of customers, at least 45% in annual recurring revenue and at least 50% in revenue.

Rational: This adds additional and up-to-date financial context post float on the London Stock Exchange.

Additions (Report on accounting irregularities):

On 18 July 2023, EY concluded its review into the company’s contracts and internal financial processes. EY found a “small number of errors and inconsistencies” with some of the contracts but nothing that would be “material” to Darktrace's financial statements. Subsequently the share price rose 26%, up to 372p.

ADD THE FOLLOWING LINE

Subsequently the share price rose 26%, up to 372p.

Rational: This adds additional and up-to-date financial context following the EY review.

Changes (Products)

It employs an autonomous response technology to take action against in-progress cyber-attacks. The product also visualises network activity on a user interface, called the 'Threat Visualiser'.

TO

It employs an autonomous response technology, RESPOND™, to take action against in-progress cyber-attacks. The product also visualises network activity on a user interface, called the 'Threat Visualiser'.

Rational: Adding in the name of the product that the above is referring to as it provides additional context.

Additions (Products)

PREVENT™ continuously monitors attack surfaces for risks, high-impact vulnerabilities and external threats. [RG5]

DETECT™ analyzes thousands of metrics to reveal subtle deviations that may signal an evolving threat - even unknown techniques and novel malware.

Darktrace HEAL™ uses AI to understand business data to ensure readiness to recover from an active cyber-attack and to rapidly restore the business to an operational state.

Rational: To add to the information already within the section I’m requesting that we add information about the additional products otherwise the section is incomplete and not fully accurate.

---

Robbie1gavin (talk) 17:13, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

Sorry to be a pain, but there is still quite a lot of material here about products and share price which may be perceived as promotional. Rather than trying to re-write the article, please can you focus on one or two facts in the existing article which are actually wrong (if there are any). Thanks, Dormskirk (talk) 17:25, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

Thanks Dormskirk, find below some facts that I feel should be added or changed based on your feedback.

First, around the size of the business as at the moment they are out of date within the article, plus the incorrect information about the research centre and the inaccuracy about being founded in collaboration with British intelligence agencies, this is factually incorrect.

In addition, I feel that there is a case to be made about the title "Report on accounting irregularities" being inaccurate (rational below), along with the image of Emily Orton as our CMO, this is out of date and Emily is no longer an employee of Darktrace.

Thanks!

+++

Changes (History):

Darktrace was founded in 2013 in Cambridge, though today its research function has reportedly moved to the Netherlands, in a collaboration with the British intelligence agencies and Invoke Capital, a company owned by Mike Lynch. Lynch was co-founder of Autonomy, sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 in a transaction leading to accusations of fraud and to a legal fight over extraditing him to the United States. In its stock market listing registration documents Darktrace rated the potential liability relating to the fallout of the action against Lynch as "low risk".

TO

Darktrace was founded in 2013 in Cambridge, where the Darktrace AI Research Centre is based, with the company’s second R&D centre located in The Hague, Netherlands. The AI Research Centre comprises more than 200 R&D employees. It was founded by mathematicians and cyber defense experts and Invoke Capital, a company owned by Mike Lynch. Lynch was co-founder of Autonomy, sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 in a transaction leading to accusations of fraud and to a legal fight over extraditing him to the United States. In its stock market listing registration documents Darktrace rated the potential liability relating to the fallout of the action against Lynch as "low risk".

Rational: This adds additional context about Darktrace as a business, including the founding of the company, its research centres. It also removed inaccurate statements around the research centre and being founded with British intelligence agencies.

+++

By the end of 2013, as well as being a wholly owned subsidiary of Invoke Capital, Invoke Capital additionally provided 15 of Darktrace's 40 staff members.

TO

As of 05 December 2023, Darktrace has more than 2,200 employees located across more than 110 countries.

Rational: This provides an up-to-date information on Darktrace’s size as the previous entry is out of date, and as a result inaccurate.

Changes (Report on accounting irregularities):

[TITLE] Report on accounting irregularities

TO

[TITLE] QCM short seller attack

Rational: It is widely reported by major news outlets using the language "short seller attack", and less so "report on accounting irregularities". See here, here, and here along with Darktrace’s statement on the EY report. In addition, this is a more accurate title and encompasses the history of the QMC short seller attack.

Remove (Products)

Remove image of CMO Emily Orton

Rational: Inaccurate, Emily Orton is no longer an employee of Darktrace. Robbie1gavin (talk) 17:47, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

Hi - I have incorporated most of this. I left out the following "As of 05 December 2023, Darktrace has more than 2,200 employees located across more than 110 countries" as (i) it did not fit well in the "History" section and (ii) is is still a bit promotion. I hope this is now OK. Dormskirk (talk) 18:38, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

Deletions, new sections

There have been quite a lot of deletions / moving around of sections in recent days. Please can any major changes be discussed here, please. Thanks. Dormskirk (talk) 16:42, 16 October 2024 (UTC)