During CyberUK, it was announced Cisco would become the first technology partner of the UK’s Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR). Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden MP said: “This is the first collaboration of its kind with LASR and will be a trailblazer where others can follow to help LASR drive cutting-edge research into the impact of AI on national security.”
To recap, LASR is the public-private partnership advancing AI security for UK national security and economic prosperity. Within this, Plexal leads LASR’s engagement with industry – big and small, local and global – to address real-world AI security challenges, build confidence and drive adoption, so we were delighted with the addition of Cisco.
There’s a strong demand signal for the UK to adopt AI systems but as these systems become more sophisticated and embedded across digital sectors, they also become more vulnerable to malicious attacks or unintended misuse. To have confidence in AI systems we need a foundation of trust underpinned by AI security – protecting and safeguarding AI systems, models, infrastructure and data from cyber threats and malicious attacks.
We’re pleased to launch a new pathway for AI security capabilities to be discovered via our LASR Opportunity Call, led by Plexal with support from Cisco. This ten-week initiative will address high-priority challenges through collaborative problem solving across organisations. Participating SMEs will be enabled to pursue innovative technology ideas and demonstrate feasibility while leveraging expertise, capabilities and resources to stimulate creativity and generate practical and impactful solutions.
Successful applicants will be encouraged to develop new AI security capabilities for the duration of the programme, which will comprise building, validating and testing new solutions. Benefits for participants will be funding, mentoring and tool access.
Key opportunity areas for AI security capabilities include:
- Protecting the agent ecosystem and discovery infrastructure
- Securing confidential compute and RAG architectures for Agentic AI
- Security tooling for agent infrastructure
On being part of LASR, Adele Every, UK Managing Director for Public Sector at Cisco, said: “We’re excited to have the opportunity to draw on Cisco’s leadership in cyber security and innovation to play a role in advancing research, knowledge sharing and the development of practical solutions as part of this important UK initiative.”
Saj Huq, CCO at Plexal, added: “As part of LASR’s mission, we’ve been ensuring innovative and emerging AI security solutions from startups and the wider technology ecosystem receive the commercial and technical support to mature, building the opportunity to positively enhance both national security and economic growth for the UK.
“Working collaboratively with leading enterprises is critical to this and we’re thrilled to expand on our work with the welcome addition of renowned technology company Cisco to LASR. This collaboration marks an exciting milestone to further AI security research and innovation capabilities at scale, leveraging a wealth of global insights and expertise for the benefit of the growing LASR public-private partnership.”
This initiative will begin in late August and conclude at the end of October, so enter now to for consideration.
