Here’s the interview snippet from the interaction with Mr. Ruchir Shukla, MD- India, SafeHouse Tech
Jahnavi: What all special and unique features are endured by the ‘Safehouse Tech’ when compared to the other cyber security companies simultaneously?
Ruchir: Many anti-viruses use a reactive approach to secure their users. They use a database to track malware, new threats and if your solution is updating slowly, it can miss new forms of cyber-attacks, leaving you vulnerable. At SafeHouse Tech, with our AI-powered mobile security app- BodyGuard we focus more on proactive defense; when you activate BodyGuard, it is always on alert, scanning for threats and blocking them in real-time. For instance: when you receive a message or email, which is enticing to you and asking you to click on it, our unique feature LinkWatch automatically finds out if the link is safe or not and blocks it before it can be opened on your phone once you click on it. In addition to that, we give equal importance to securing the digital identity of people with our identity protection feature and alerting our users if they have been a part of a data breach in which their sensitive information has been stolen through our dark web intelligence tool. Cyberattacks are happening every day and we as individuals can’t keep up with all that’s happening. Hence, BodyGuard is taking care of it by looking out for you, alerting you, and recommending to you what to do in case any of your sensitive details are leaked. In addition, we’re always looking to protect our users against new threats and challenges. With the rise in UPI-related frauds, we are proud to say that we’re the first company to bundle cyber insurance with our cyber security solution. We have recently launched a new product, BodyGuard VIP Plus in partnership with HDFC ERGO, which not only keeps you cyber-secured but also cyber-insured.
Jahnavi: What do you mean by the launching of the cyber insurance in India? And what are the growth prospects of it in our nation?
Ruchir: As we are aware that cyber insurance is extremely new in the cybersecurity space but extremely relevant in these times. We have seen a steep growth wherein enterprises are opting for Cyber insurance coverage but for individuals, it is still a very new concept. It won’t be wrong to say that we all have been the victims of cybercrimes in some way and given the current scenario, people have faced financial losses due to it. We are the pioneers in cyber security and the software space to offer HDFC ERGO cyber insurance cover against financial loss. With our new product, BodyGuard VIP Plus, you will automatically be insured for an amount of INR 25,000 in case of any kind of unauthorized digital transaction.
Our distribution channel is very strong, spanning over 5000+ electronics stores and 800+ cities and our idea is to bring the conversation around cyber security and cyber insurance in those stores where millions of shoppers visit daily. We definitely see that this could be the next big thing and cyber insurance is considered very positively by the whole insurance industry. I do think a lot of players will follow us and you will see a lot many similar offerings like ours launched here in the next 9-12 months. In the coming 5 years, cyber insurance will become as essential and common as life and health insurance.
Jahnavi: What was the main aim and vision behind BodyGuard? Why do you it is better and different from any other platform similar to it?
Ruchir: In my opinion, it’s not that people do not care about their data privacy or digital safety, it’s more that people feel overwhelmed so as to what can be done to secure themselves while accessing the internet. No one wants to give their personal and sensitive information but they feel that it is something that they have no control over. Our objective is to make cyber security accessible for all. With BodyGuard, you just have to activate it once and you’ll have a safer and private internet experience. Our users love the simplicity and how easy it is to be safe online with BodyGuard. Anyone who uses a mobile phone needs BodyGuard to stay protected digitally. We’ve taken out the complexity of usage that usually comes with similar security software products and also help them with features and services which are relevant in these times.
Jahnavi: Is there any other feature in your company which ensures other various cyber security issues which tells you if the link is malicious or safe when you click on it ?
Ruchir: Our App feature, Active Defense lets you beware of what is happening on your phone in the background through apps installed on your phones. If there is any app that is trying to do any kind of unsafe/unsecured activity in the background, Active Defense will put a stop to it. Once you install BodyGuard, this feature will always remain on and look out for suspicious background activities that aren’t authorised by you and block them. Another feature is LinkWatch which uses AI technology to identify and block malicious links. Once a link is detected as dangerous, LinkWatch blocks the website and adds it to a blocklist to help protect as many users as possible. Elaborating on this feature would like to add that BodyGuard can also identify a harmful link that might be created a few hours ago, meaning a spam link with no history. These kinds of capabilities help us not only block threats that are known but also unknown ones.
Jahnavi: Is there any feature that tells the country of origin of apps on your phone?
Ruchir: With BodyGuard’s Patriot feature, you can check the country of origin of the apps on your phone and decide if you want to continue using those apps. The rationale behind it is to let the users know the country of the app where it has been developed and where your data is going. For instance: If there are apps made in a particular country that is suddenly considered unsafe, with Patriot you can quickly and easily be aware if your device has any apps from a specific location.
Jahnavi: As it has come to light that there are ample amount of cyber threats taking place all over the globe and they have turned out to be extremely dangerous. How would you ensure your customers that they are safe from these cyber threats? And what all measures will be taken against these?
Ruchir: There are two aspects of it- If I had to talk about people like us, again I think that we are mostly under the biggest threat and on the radar of phishers; these online spammers send hundreds and thousands of emails, messages, links, and anyone can click on the malicious link and be a victim of it. All we need is to maintain digital hygiene and be aware of social engineering and phishing attacks. The most important step that one should take is to have a mobile security application installed on their phones/devices. With BodyGuard, we ensure to block these threats in real-time and our users have a private and secure Internet experience beyond the standard protection from phishing attacks, ransomware, or malicious links.
Jahnavi: Can we all know about what is the current brand valuation along with the total fundraised so far?
Ruchir: The total funding that we have received is almost $10 million. The objective is to raise Series A funding in the next 9-12 months.
Jahnavi: How do you focus on and decide upon the long term view of the company?
Ruchir: Our vision has always been to be a consumer-tech company improving digital safety for our users rather than being a cyber security company. We offer a user-friendly mobile security app that gives our users digital safety and protects their digital footprints. Our constant endeavour is to keep coming up with features that help users stay protected in day-to-day life amidst the burgeoning cyber theft/ crime incidents across India. Given our dependency on the internet has increased especially over the last 2-3 years, in my view, our involvement in the digital world will only keep increasing. Our vision is also to add new products and ensure that our users’ digital lives are safe. For instance, many of us are not just parents, but also digital parents, and we are concerned about our children’s activities in a digital environment. And we’ll have products and services coming soon to help digital parents to keep their children safe online. We have been working towards expanding our product portfolio to protect your entire identity and your every aspect of digital life. In a nutshell, SafeHouse Tech wants to provide digital safety to everyone in the online space.
