$1.8m US Healthcare Cyber Security Contract

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9 October 2023

NARF INDUSTRIES PLC

Awarded $1.8 Million US Healthcare Cyber Security Contract

Proactive Approach to Malware Risk in Electronic Health Records ("EHR")

Narf Industries plc ("Narf", the "Company", or the "Group"), (LSE: NARF) (OTCQB: NFIN.F) the cybersecurity group specializing in high-end threat intelligence and critical infrastructure security, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $1.8 million contract from the US Government's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

Under this contract awarded by ARPA-H, NARF will work on the Digital Health Security (DIGIHEALS[i]) programme titled "Electronic Health Record Format for Interoperable Secure Transformation (EHR-FIST)".  This work leverages NARF's cutting-edge capabilities developed under its multi-million dollar SAFEDOC's contracts sponsored by another leading government agency, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency ("DARPA").

The DIGIHEALS initiative supports innovative research that aims to protect the U.S. health care system's electronic infrastructure against hostile threats. SAFEDOCS has the same goal, but focused on standard business document formats, like PDFs.  The complexities in these file format create opportunities for attackers to hide malicious code. In the case of DIGIHEALS, the hundreds of health care management software applications that process EHR are vulnerable to these advanced threats and put hospitals and patients at risk from ransomware and disruption of health services. 

NARF is advancing innovative capabilities that detects malware risk buried deep within complex document structures before its launched and used by applications that can then infect critical infrastructure networks.  Under these research agency funded contracts, NARF owns the intellectual property (IP) for commercial purposes and is constructing an array of disruptive advanced threat detection capabilities to form a next generation threat intelligence platform. 

Dr. Michael Locasto, Director, NARF Government Research and Development (GR&D) Sector commented.  "These research agencies rely on NARF's game changing approaches to keep pace with evolving threats.  This is our inaugural contract with ARPA-H and we are now working to expand our relationships across the many other government and private research agencies involved in critical infrastructure security." 

Steve Bassi, CEO of NARF commented: "It's the cumulative value and synergistic nature of these incremental research awards that's important to recognize in NARF's strategy to leverage non-dilutive research work into commercial products.  Over 75% of this year's revenue, multi-million dollars, is directly contributing to our IP pipeline and creating the foundation for a new generation of threat intelligence and vulnerability solutions."  

For further information on the Group please visit www.narfgroup.com or contact:

About NARF Industries plc

Narf Industries (LSE: NARF)(OTCQB: NFIN.F) is a US based leading provider of cybersecurity research, solutions, and services to government entities. With a steadfast commitment to protecting national security and critical infrastructure, it offers comprehensive expertise in addressing the evolving cyber threats faced by its clients.

Narf works with various US government agencies including the Department of Defense ("DoD"), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ("DARPA"), and the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"). The Group often collaborates with world renowned private research companies and leading educational establishments in the performance of contracts.

Narf's strong track record of successful contract performance underscores its ability to deliver results. It understand the critical nature of the work performed by these agencies and the importance of maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of their missions.

With NARF's industry-leading expertise, advanced technologies, and unwavering commitment to excellence, it provides the US government with the confidence and peace of mind it needs to navigate the complex and ever-changing cybersecurity landscape.

The Group's strategy leverages government funded research and business to create and fund innovative and disruptive products for billion-dollar commercial cybersecurity markets and it has two key business areas:

Government Research and Development ("GR&D")

·    The Group has a successful history of tendering for, and winning, government R&D contracts for groundbreaking technologies, predominantly from DARPA. Its research work is focused on  three, multi-billion cybersecurity market segments:  critical infrastructure protection; open-source software (OSS) vulnerabilities; and threat intelligence.

·    For these contracts, the Government agency retains government purpose rights, but the Group has the sole right to sell new solutions using the intellectual property (IP) to the government (i.e., GS&S business). For commercial markets the Group owns the IP rights.

·    The GR&D contracting process may range from 9 to 15 months and, once awarded, performance can range up to 18 months or longer. The Group projects stepped growth in its GR&D business targeting synergistic research areas that complement its current rich IP portfolio.

Government Solutions and Services ("GS&S")

·    The Group develops solutions and performs services for various US government agencies. Its software solutions address immediate cybersecurity mission needs. These needs continually evolve as the nature of cybersecurity threats change, so it also provides on-going services supporting the operations of the delivered software solution.

·    The Group enjoys a unique competitive position with GS&S work through a recently renewed 5-year omnibus contract.  This streamlines government procurement cycles and gives multiple agencies access to the Group's solutions and services.  Agencies execute task orders, many with awards justified on a sole source basis.

·    The timing from ideation of task to award is 3 to 6 months.  Tasks performance typically range from 6 to 12 months to complete, at which time software is delivered and integrated into an operational system.