The Future of Cyber Security: International Startups Pitch at Hub:raum

By David Knight |

With international tensions steadily on the rise, and with the Snowden revelations still fresh in the memory, innovation in cyber security is slap bang in the spotlight. In order to tap into this trend, Deutsche Telekom’s hub:raum accelerator invited startups in fields including APT detection, identity and access management and the cloud to a cyber security bootcamp on Monday.

The 15 teams were joined by T-System’s Cyber Security Unit and the Group Security Service of Deutsche Telekom as the telco giant begins to ramp up its exploration of the online security space. There were keynotes from Yoav Tzura, partner at JVP Cyber Labs and Recurity Labs founder Felix Lindner as well as a panel discussion featuring Markus Schmall, head of DT’s IT Security department.

But the €10,000 up for grabs to the winning team in the pitching competition was probably at the forefront of most people’s minds.

Ultimately, the cash went to CyActive, an Israeli startup which has developed predictive cyber security based on bio-inspired algorithms and a deep understanding of the black hats’ hacking process. In simple terms, it can detect malware which had previously never seen the light of day and so protect networks, endpoint devices and SCADA equipment.

The company saw off some strong competition, which included:

  • Cryptografx (Austria): A password protector using a human intelligence barrier that stops access via stolen passwords.
  • Crypho (Norway): A secure file transfer and chat platform for companies and teams.
  • Hyperwise (Israel): APT protection based on chip-leve sandboxing technology.
  • Spikes Security (US): This Silicon Valley startup offers a browser security solution against malware.
  • BehavioSec (Sweden): Real-time security through monitoring the way users interact with devices, thus identifying if someone other than the intended person is using them.
  • Detectify (Sweden): An SaaS-based security test for applications built with web technologies.
  • Signatur.it (Spain): An easy and secure way to sign documents from your mobile device, with legal validity and without installing additional applications.
  • EyeRa (Israel): An innovative approach in combating malwares in SCADA environments by focusing on the outcome of an attack rather than trying to find abnormality or use known signatures.
  • Excalibur (Poland): Excalibur transforms a user’s mobile phone into a secure and convenient authentication tool.
  • ChaoSecure (Croatia): An encryption device that comprises software and hardware encryption systems.
  • Ciphernoid (Germany): An ‘Encryption-as-a-Service’ solution using state of the art algorithms.
  • Orelsoft (Bulgaria): A phantom password system that no one can see and once applied, users never need to hide it again.
  • TrapX (Israel): A platform able to detect and analyse Zero-Day and undetected malware used by the world’s most destructive APT organisations.
  • Commocial (Germany): A B2B2C application provider which simplifies the authentication of users for the application provider as well as for the user.

Keep an eye on these and similar companies, with Europe set to become the centre of a cyber security landscape which seemingly needs to protect from all directions.