In a landmark move for international defence innovation, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has selected Australian dual-use technology company Castlepoint Systems to prevent data leaks with AI-powered data control. Castlepoint’s proprietary Explainable AI technology will provide real-time, automated control over complex datasets to reduce the risk of human-led errors when handling sensitive data.

This strategic investment reflects the MoD’s commitment to strengthening its data protection posture. One such incident – the 2022 Afghan data breach – highlighted the consequences of human error, when a spreadsheet containing personal details of nearly 19,000 individuals was mistakenly sent outside secure channels, exposing the identities of those at risk of Taliban reprisals. AI-powered data labelling can prevent mistakes like this by automatically identifying and applying the correct security classifications to sensitive information.

Castlepoint continuously monitors documents and emails within an organisation’s network, using advanced AI to understand the topics, people, and events they discuss. It then automatically recommends the appropriate security marking based on the content and context, ensuring that sensitive information is protected from the moment it is created. These recommendations are fully traceable to specific matches, aligned with the organisation’s unique risk profile. This makes the classification process transparent, explainable, and contestable, meeting the highest standards of Ethical AI.  

Castlepoint’s unique capability also extends to legacy records with missing or outdated labels, enabling retrospective classification, detection of over- or under-classification, and continuous review of documents as their content evolves, ensuring that security markings remain accurate over time.  

Rachael Greaves, CEO of Castlepoint Systems, said: “Securing this contract with the Ministry of Defence as our first UK account is a key milestone for Castlepoint, underscoring the critical importance of sophisticated data control for any organisation, not just national security. The MoD faces a complex challenge in managing vast and sensitive datasets in the knowledge that even a single case of data leak or loss can be catastrophic. I’m pleased that after undertaking a very thorough global search, Castlepoint was selected by MoD as the best solution to solve this problem.  

“Castlepoint, with Explainable AI and true autoclassification at its core, can increase labelling accuracy and coverage without disrupting the essential work of MoD personnel. We are a trusted technology provider for public-sector organisations and enterprises in Australia and New Zealand, and having now established our global headquarters in London, we look forward to delivering our proven solutions to many more organisations in the UK.”  

Castlepoint was selected by the MoD via a competitive tender process, which assessed global solutions for data labelling. It will deliver the solution in partnership with Birmingham-based Certes IT Solutions, which provides implementation and project management personnel.