Two eighteen-year old cyber experts are aiming high after launching a cyber venture in the heart of Malvern’s Cyber Valley. And the two young men who left Chase Technology College last year are already on the way to business growth having taken on a seventeen-year old apprentice to help them to expand. Michael Ranaldo and James Workman have set up Dephrisk straight out of school to help local companies protect themselves from cyber attack. Both are already veterans in the cyber-world having worked with local companies based in cyber valley on projects protecting national and international clients. Local MP Harriett Baldwin paid a visit to the duo to wish them luck and to offer her help to one of the latest start-ups based at Malvern Hills Science Park. She also told them that the Chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement that anyone hiring an apprentice under 25 would have no Employers’ National Insurance to pay. Harriett said: “It is amazing to see what Michael and James are already up to only months after leaving school. “As teenagers, they must be some of the youngest ever employers of an apprentice in the country and in their own words, they know that the best cyber advice comes from young people, not middle aged men. “In an era when teenagers can hack into businesses and government computers, they are well equipped to succeed at the heart of cyber valley and I have offered my support as they venture out into the world of commerce. “I hope that Dephrisk is a trailblazer for young people around the county proving that this is a great time to take on the challenge of being your own boss. I wish them every success.” Photo: Teenage cyber security experts (l-r) Michael Ranaldo, James Workman and Josh Walker show off their skills to local MP Harriett Baldwin.