Australian Government backs Canopus Networks and UNSW on AI Cyber Defense for SMEs

SYDNEY, March 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Canopus Networks and UNSW Sydney have secured a $433K grant from the Australian Government under the Australian Economic Acceleratorhttps://www.aea.gov.au/ Ignite Program to accelerate the commercialisation of nationally significant research. This initiative aims to protect SMEs from cyber threats in the cloud - one of the most vulnerable yet underserved sectors.

AI-Powered Cybersecurity for SMEs: A Critical Market Gap

Cybercrime is a business-killer for SMEs - 43% of attacks target small businesses, most of which lack the right resources to defend themselves. 82% of ransomware attacks were directed at SMEs, as reported by Sentinel One . With an average breach costing $4.88M, 60% of affected SMEs shut down within six months.

" The future of cybersecurity isn't just reactive defense - it's proactive, AI-native security that learns, adapts, and protects at machine speed. Cloud security leaders likeWizhave shown that there's massive demand for platforms that simplify and automate cloud defense. Our mission is to take that concept further by embedding agentic AI into the runtime layer of cloud infrastructure, making intelligent defense available and affordable for the millions of SMEs operating in increasingly complex environments ", said Bhaskar Dutta , Chief Product officer of Canopus Networks.

Bridging Security Research and Industry

The project, titled "Commercialising AI for Detecting and Preventing Data Breaches in the Cloud" leverages years of research by UNSW Sydney's A/Prof. Hassan Habibi Gharakheili and Dr. Minzhao Lyu . Their AI models detect covert data exfiltration and malware communication with Command-and-Control (C2) servers—capabilities validated in lab environments and now ready for commercialization by Canopus Networks .

" We strongly believe that Australia needs to have sovereign capabilities in cybersecurity and reduce reliance on foreign technology over time. Our AI-driven solution is one of such efforts, leveraging cutting-edgeeBPFtechnology and UNSW's advanced AI models to deliver data breach detection and prevention across cloud environments ", said Himal Kumar , CTO of Canopus Networks. 

Targeting a $148B Market Opportunity

With AI-driven cloud-native cybersecurity solutions expected to grow at 22.5% CAGR, reaching $148B by 2032, this project positions Canopus Networks at the forefront of a high-growth market. By delivering a commercial-grade AI-powered security platform, Canopus and UNSW are setting the foundation for the next generation of intelligent, self-defending cloud infrastructure.

Media Contact: info@canopusnet.com

About Canopus Networks: Founded in 2018 as a spin-off out of research in software-defined networking (SDN) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies from UNSW, Canopus Networks is the creator of SEER AI Observability Platform, which enables enterprises and carriers to power AI engines with fine-grained real-time intelligence on network and security. The company is headquartered in Sydney, Australia with an office in San Jose, California. For more information, visit https://canopusai.com/