FRONTEO Announces New Technology that Facilitates Analysis of Hashed Information with its Proprietary AI Engine “KIBIT”

NEW YORK, June 27, 2023 – FRONTEO (TSE: 2158) is pleased to announce it has developed a new technology that analyzes hashed data (patent pending) with its in-house developed AI engine "KIBIT"

In the past, when large volumes of corporate data were analyzed externally in connection with electronic discovery (eDiscovery) for cross-border litigation or digital forensic investigations, data was often exported in its original native form, thus introducing the risk of exposing confidential information. FRONTEO’s new technology makes it possible to analyze data in a hashed state, thereby enabling the safe removal of data outside corporate systems while significantly reducing the risk of information leakage.

Hashing, a commonly used security measure, is a technology developed to securely store and communicate data via the internet. In detail, hashing is a technique that uses a hash function to convert data into an irregular string of values, which are irreversible, making it technically difficult to determine or otherwise reconstruct original data. Conversely, "encryption" is a method of transforming original data using a cryptographic algorithm, or encryption key, that prevents data from being read. However, employing this method does allow for the ability to revert data to its unencrypted form since original data can be decrypted using its encryption key. With recent advances in the development of quantum computers globally, there is growing concern that encryption keys may soon become decipherable by applying new quantum computing capabilities.

In eDiscovery, large amounts of document data for cross-border litigation, sometimes several terabytes per case, are transmitted and stored in data centers around the world. In such cases, data containing confidential information is taken cross border in a decryptable state, which inherently increases risk of misuse or mishandling of confidential information, not only outside corporate networks but also beyond national borders.

Additionally, from an economic security perspective, the movement of sensitive information in a state in which it can be viewed and decrypted in a generic manner can have a serious impact, potentially leading to the risk of intellectual property exposure that can erode or otherwise negatively impact an organization’s global competitiveness.

This new FRONTEO technology will enable KIBIT to analyze hashed data and acquire only information deemed necessary for investigative purposes (e.g., degree of document relevance to evidence, areas of interest in documents or AI analysis models). By matching the acquired information with original data and identifying requisite parts, companies and experts can reduce the risk of information leakage and efficiently proceed to perform a comprehensive review process.