What's New in the EU Security Market

This October we visited the trade fair it-sa, which counts as one of the more important IT security exhibitions in the world. They hosted more than 750 security vendors from 25 countries who presented their solutions for the international market. We had a look, specifically, at new players and solutions coming from EU countries.

Artificial intelligence, legal aspects of data protection and data security and IT security for industry and production were among the key themes at this year's it-sa event held in Nuremberg, Germany. A huge variety of security solutions were presented, some of them for the first time at this show. The following are some unique examples of new security solutions and vendors from the EU this year.

Cypherdog from Poland is a tool for securely sending encrypted files, synchronized encrypted storage in the cloud, local resource encryption and messenger in desktop and mobile versions. Cypherdog wants to make a difference with the lack of a "trusted third party" and the storage of public keys in the blockchain. They don't use identity confirmation by text message or reminder of the password by e-mail, because it means that there is a "third party" involved. Rather, a mobile application is used for confirming identity at the time of a physical meeting, which means that there is no data exchange between strangers, suitable for closed groups.

Intigriti from Belgium is a crowdsourced security platform where security researchers and companies can work together. As an ethical hacking and bug bounty platform it aims to identify and tackle vulnerabilities in a cost efficient way. The managed platform facilitates online security testing through collaboration with experienced researchers with a strong European focus.

Exeon Analytics AG from Switzerland is specialized in detecting hidden data breaches and advanced cyber attacks. ExeonTrace is an analysis and visualization software, based on award-winning algorithms. It identifies gaps in IT security perimeters and detects anomalies in millions of data points (log data). During an ExeonThreatReport, their engineers review the security state of the internal network by analyzing proxy log data (the internal device's web activities), flow log (NetFlow/IPFIX logs exported by firewalls) and DNS log data.

Hackner Security Intelligence GmbH from Germany is specialized in Red Team Assessments. At it-sa they introduced “VULCOM”, a vulnerability management software, that helps companies combine and actively manage automated security checks. The results can be exported and integrated into the risk management software of the user company. VULCOM can combine different scanners, and the data can be hosted in the own data center of the user.

fragmentiX Storage Solutions GmbH from Germany is on the way to develop the fragmentiX mobile app, which will be available in the fourth quarter of this year. It shall give people the opportunity to store mobile phone and tablet data securely in the cloud without having to trust a single storage provider. Data fragmentation through Secret Sharing should protect data from theft and espionage. The application will be available free of charge with three pre-defined cloud providers for both Android and iOS.

CyberTrap Software GmbH from Austria showed their solution redirecting attackers to a digital playground and letting them believe that they succeeded with their breach. With the live-forensic capabilities Cybertrap is monitoring the attacker´s behavior, collect local threat intelligence and trace back the attacker´s tactics, techniques and procedures. Besides that, the Cybertrap TrackDown service allows the user to deliver tagged documents to malicious actors, which enables the organization to track and identify actors behind a cyber intrusion.

IoT Inspector, from SEC Technologies GmbH in Austria, is an IoT firmware analysis platform used by enterprises, infrastructure providers, manufacturers, consultancies and researchers. The tool is offered as a service to automatically discover vulnerabilities and security risks in IoT solutions.

Besides the main it-sa show, a security startup event called UP@it-sa took place also. Within this mini event 35 startups had applied to initially convince the expert jury or their solutions worth. The 12 nominated startups showcased their solutions for improving IT security and efficacy in protecting privacy and personal data. This included, for example, a platform for secure data exchanges between people entrusted with confidential information, an anonymisation solution for image-based analytics processes, a blockchain-based two-factor authentication and a software development kit for developing secure apps.

IDEEfrom Germany had the most successful pitch of all the startups. IDEE is a software company located in Munich that creates a re-usable digital identification card, so users can checkout instantly, anonymously verify their age and more. IDEE leverages the user's smartphone, cryptography and blockchain technology, to create digital identities.

— Oliver Schonschek, News Analyst, Security Now