Photo: Khakimullin Aleksandr – shutterstock.com
it-sa is Europe’s largest trade fair for IT security. Accordingly, it is in high demand [email protected] Award, which is now being awarded for the fifth time at the fair to an IT security startup. In 2022, dozens of young companies again applied for the prize, which is supported by media partner COMPUTERWOCHE – ten were nominated by the jury. The three-week program has now been running for a few days video vote – so that you can vote for your favourite, we present the ten finalists below.
Data is collected not only in “classic” IT infrastructures in the company, but everywhere – also via video cameras in public areas. On the one hand, this optical data from people’s walking and driving routes is used for commercial purposes, to improve the placement of outdoor advertising or to optimize layouts. On the other hand, it is about developing diversion systems to avoid traffic jams and regulating passenger flows in local public transport. But with this form of data collection, there is a conflict with data protection.
Within the European Union, according to the GDPR, no one may be recorded in an optically recognizable manner without their explicit consent. While intelligent camera systems can make faces unrecognizable, companies lack a solution that prevents people in recordings from being recognized by distinctive clothing, tattoos or other unique features. build, a startup from Bruchsal, has developed blind sensors that manipulate the recordings as they are created. This makes the images unrecognizable, but can still be analyzed for anonymous information.
Facial recognition and fingerprints, as well as multi-factor authentication, are good ways to ensure that the person logging into the system is a legitimate user. However, these methods can be manipulated or bypassed. That’s why the startup DeepSign from Saarbrücken has developed a technology that allows users to constantly authenticate themselves with a mouse and keyboard before each interaction.
DeepSign calls this process behavior-based security. Any interaction with the hardware leads to a security check. For example, if a user regularly uses the “Del” key to delete text, the system becomes skeptical and pre-marks the text for deletion. An alarm will also go off if the user, who usually uses ten fingers, suddenly uses only one finger. The way the mouse is used is also used as an indicator of anomalies.
Confidential computing is a technology that is becoming more and more popular and popular. Bochum-based company Edgeless System uses them to isolate entire Kubernetes deployments and workloads from its cloud infrastructure. To do this, the startup uses confidential virtual machines to encrypt data end-to-end so that neither the cloud provider nor third parties can access it.
Borderless System calls the Confidential Kubernetes method. According to the manufacturer, in the future, its platform will allow companies to fully rely on the public cloud without having to rely on security products from other providers. By the end of 2023, the startup aims to create a managed service for Confidential Kubernetes and an ecosystem of other Confidential Services.
LocateRisk provides automated IT risk analysis. The startup examines its customers’ networks for vulnerabilities. The Darmstadt-based company provides management reporting that is understandable even without specialist knowledge, as well as weak point reports for the IT department and recommendations for action. With the Security Score, companies get an overview of how secure their applications, their network or their configurations are. This also allows them to compare themselves with their competitors.
With the Cloud Foundation Platform, MeshCloud create a solution that meets the needs of everyone involved in a company’s digital transformation. IT management gains full control over the entire cloud landscape, and development teams need to benefit from fast onboarding and a lot of technology freedom. Those in charge can use the platform to manage access, define budgets, split invoices, deploy landing zones and enforce compliance standards.
pseudo wants to combine anonymity and authentication in one solution. To do this, the Erfurt-based company separates the virtual IDs from the real identities. Before registering for a service, users authenticate themselves with Psoido and the proprietary solution creates a token that allows them to register anonymously. But Psoido can’t just be used to protect the identities of individuals. Companies that rely on data evaluation have often come into conflict with the GDPR, as it also has sovereignty over pseudonymised data, which limits its analysis. However, if companies anonymize the data, the GDPR will not apply, as no conclusions can be drawn about a person’s real identity.
A team of engineers, physicists, computer scientists and economists came together and the startup Quantum Optics Jena Founded. It specializes in encrypting data using quantum computing. The Quantum Key Distribution System (QKDS) consists of the hardware that provides the entangled protons, which in turn enable authentication using unique security features. On the other hand, the “Quantum State Analyzer” and a Key Management System are part of the solution. From these components, the startup is putting together the Crypto Box, which organizations can use to use quantum keys to encrypt fiber networks, workloads and satellite network systems.
It’s a topic that gives most companies a headache: ISO 27001. The Berlin startup sec fix, which also qualified for the finals of the [email protected] Award, offers a solution that companies should use to become and remain compliant with regard to data protection in just weeks instead of months. Data protection officers can integrate the Secfix platform via interfaces into the information management system (ISMS) and adapt it to the requirements of the company. You can create individual checklists to keep track of tasks that are still open to meet data protection requirements. In addition, companies get an overview of supplier data and they can train new employees via the platform. In addition, the solution automatically performs hourly compliance checks and evaluates the results in real time.
‘s team Tenzir from Hamburg provides an open data platform with which companies can sustainably protect their security architecture. Tenzir collects telemetry data not only from the logs, but from the entire network to give users an overview of shadow IT, access permissions and anomalies. This enables organizations to improve their response to cyber attacks and forensics. The startup relies on machine learning to detect unknown threats, even in multicloud environments.
With increasing cybercrime, fears of identity theft and digital counterfeiting are also increasing in Germany. TrustCerts, the price contender from Gelsenkirchen, offers a verification service that aims to allay users’ concerns. Companies can integrate TrustCerts functionalities into their processes via APIs and thus automatically create, sign and manage documents. You can also use and offer the platform, which is based on blockchain technology, as a white label in your own design.
After this video vote you will once again have the chance to vote for your favorite contender for the [email protected] Award during the online pitch event on September 22. The official award ceremony will take place on October 27 at it-sa 2022 in Nuremberg. The winner will receive customized five-day coaching and special conditions for participation in the Startup Area at it-sa 2023 with a total value of 10,000 euros. All nominated startups can present themselves and their products free of charge for a year with the “Company & Product” package on the digital platform it-sa365.
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