The Start-up Physec want to provide more security in the Internet of things. This invisible electromagnetic radio waves help. You can protect telemedicine systems as well as smart home devices against unauthorized access.
Data theft in the digital world is not only the case – such as, recently, politicians and celebrities. Also networked devices, for example, communicating machines in the field of industry 4.0, or the tele-medicine attack provide surfaces for manipulation. Accordingly, the demand for IT security products and solutions for the Internet of things.
A market-ready solution is “Enclosure-PUF”, the acronym for “physical unclonable function”. So, for an encryption, the attacker will not be readable. Has developed this concept, the company Physec from Bochum. Among the customers of the 2016 founded a Start-up, well-known companies from different industries in the meantime. Of the leading household appliances manufacturers and energy providers to manufacturers of heating-, industry -, and cooling systems.
With radio waves of attackers on the track
The success is based on waves. You don’t see you and you can’t hear them, but with electromagnetic radio waves, even the smallest changes can and within a system are made visible. So radio can be monitored based solutions for remote reading of water and electricity meters as well as shipping containers with sensitive cargo.
“On the basis of the electro-magnetic changes to the devices, we generate a new key. This key is for the attacker to read, as it is located within a physical system,” explains managing Director Christian Zenger. The encryption is unique for each device. You will only be generated when the start-up and changes again and again.
The two managing Directors of Physec: Christian Zenger (left) and Heiko Koepken
For your method, creative IT heads from the Ruhr area have received the German prize for IT security 2018. For the successful implementation of the business idea Physec has been awarded as a “Digital Start-up of the year” by the German Federal Ministry for economic Affairs and energy. “An award”, says the second managing Director Heiko Koepke, “which has motivated us, of course, in addition to, and reinforces that we are on a right way.”
Washing machine as a safety gap
An often underrated area when it comes to the protection of data, devices in the Smarthome. It is not only for Smartphones, to personal data, says Christian Zenger. “Surprisingly, this also applies to washing machines, dishwashers or any other smart home devices.” Finally, this budget coupled helper is usually with other systems. Therefore, Zenger could also reveal the Algorithms stuffed inside a washing machine attackers a lot. “Often, it is actually so, that these systems are coupled with other systems, which can then betrayed in turn, personal things. Mostly, these individual systems are not the direct target of attack, but are a means to an end.”
Also, nuclear weapons storage so that they can monitor
In addition to the practical use of areas in the economy, the Physec could help method to care in the military field for more safety. Together with the US universities of Harvard and Princeton, IT developed-inventor from Bochum, Germany a method to improve the control of nuclear weapons store. After all, it is estimated that worldwide about 14.550 nuclear warheads, which are stored in Silos.
In this Container, Physec simulated attacks on a nuclear weapons storage
You missed these Silos and their contents with electromagnetic radio waves, resulting in a so-called fingerprint of the portfolio. Every Change made about the exchange of weapons, dummies, or an increase in the stock is immediately registered. For this method to date, however, no nuclear-Power required, logged in.
On a good growth path
The Physec GmbH is a successful example of knowledge transfer between universities and business. In the Start-up is a spin-off of the Ruhr-University of Bochum-based Horst-Görtz-Institute, which is Europe’s leading Institute for IT-security.
The Team of Physec
Meanwhile, Physec, employs around 30 employees. All young, but not unworldly Nerds, but the best-trained young professionals in the field of IT security. Professionals like you, who have studied at the Horst-Görtz-Institute, says managing Director Heiko Koepke, are in demand in all industries. And The demand already exceeds the number of graduates.
In view of the previous contracts, the young company is on a steady growth course. The revenue is already seven digits. It was that it was just three years on the market, but remarkably, accounted for the responsible for financial Affairs, Heiko Koepke.