Building Trust in Sensitive Document Handling: Interviewing Startups of the Year Nominee, G-71 Inc.

Hey Hackers,

G-71 Inc. has been nominated in HackerNoon's annual Startup of the Year awards in Mountain View, USA.

Please vote for us here.

Read more about us below to understand why we deserve your vote.

Meet G-71 Inc.

G-71 Inc., a cybersecurity company based in Mountain View, CA, has created LeaksID solution to solve a crucial problem enterprises face: leaks and public disclosure of sensitive documents that are compromised via various methods, including photographs. LeaksID is an advanced Insider Threat Management (ITM) technology designed to protect sensitive documents from threats posed by insiders. The technology uses steganography to embed unique and undetectable marks into confidential documents, making it a highly effective deterrent against data breaches.

My Role

I am Sergey Voynov, the founder of G-71.  I have more than twenty years of experience in IT, of which for 7 years I was the CIO of a large corporation and was responsible for cybersecurity. During that time, the company faced an insider leak of internal documents and their public publication. Despite having various information security tools, including a DLP system, we were unable to solve this crime. Over a three-month period, approximately 300 privileged users had access to the documents, and it was impossible to identify the exact source of the leak.

I realized that a solution is needed that would allow identifying the individual responsible for the document leaks directly from the compromised documents themselves. This is how the technology was born, the uniqueness of which is confirmed by the US and international patent, and my team and I created a practical solution called LeaksID.

How We're Disrupting/Improving the Cybersecurity Industry

Currently, there are numerous solutions available for protecting documents and data. Unfortunately, none of the current document protection solutions are able to prevent insiders from simply taking a photograph or screenshot of a document. While watermarks may be the most effective method for addressing this problem, they can still be easily removed, rendering the document anonymous once again. Therefore, there is a need for technology that can identify which copy has been compromised, even if a document is photographed. To deter and investigate such leaks, G-71 has developed the LeaksID solution.

Standing Out from The Crowd

The LeaksID solution stands out from other startups in the cybersecurity space due to its unique approach to document protection that encompasses multiple solutions within the information security domain. Rather than fitting neatly into a single category, LeaksID combines features of Insider Threat management, Data Leak Deterrence, and Document Leaks Investigations. Additionally, LeaksID offers seamless integration with other security solutions like data classification or DLP, enabling a more comprehensive approach to protection. Unlike watermarking solutions, LeaksID provides distinct advantages by preventing easy removal and enabling the identification of the source of a leak.

Here are the key advantages of our G-71’s LeaksID technology:

• Comprehensive Channel Protection: the solution safeguards all channels, including electronic documents and printed hard copies.
• Vast Unique Combinations: For a one-page document, LeaksID can generate 27,000 copies for every person on Earth, resulting in 205 trillion unique combinations.
• Wide Format Support: LeaksID supports multiple formats such as doc(x), pdf, ppt(x), jpeg, png, CAD, and more.
• Flexible Deployment Options: LeaksID provides both SaaS and On-Prem options, offering a choice between Web Application Firewall and Rest API.
• Integration Capabilities: LeaksID can be easily integrated with Microsoft Exchange and external storage systems.
• Built-in Investigation Module: LeaksID includes a dedicated tool for detecting culprits, streamlining the investigation process.
• Versatile Leak Detection: LeaksID can identify document leaks regardless of their format, whether they are photos, screenshots, or printed copies.

By combining these unique features, LeaksID offers a robust and comprehensive solution for document protection in the cybersecurity landscape.

Our Predictions/Thoughts on the Cybersecurity Industry in 2023

In 2023, the cybersecurity industry is witnessing significant growth and undergoing rapid evolution. There is a noticeable rise in the occurrence of insider threats, which poses a serious concern for organizations. According to research, more than 75% of all data breaches are caused by insiders, referring to individuals who have legitimate access to information. This trend is expected to continue expanding in the upcoming years, highlighting the crucial need for robust security measures and proactive risk mitigation strategies.

Furthermore, as stated in the "2022 COST OF INSIDER THREAT" study by the Ponemon Institute, companies suffer losses exceeding $10.8 million within a single year due to leaks caused by employee or contractor negligence, as well as criminal and malicious insiders. The magnitude of this amount is staggering, and the figures are likely to continue growing.

Therefore, companies must place a greater emphasis on addressing insider threats, including the exploration of solutions that can tackle the seemingly unsolvable issue of leaks facilitated by personal smartphones.

Why we decided to participate in HackerNoon's Startup of the Year awards

Our global goal is to ensure a secure exchange and handling of confidential documents. Participating in HackerNoon's Startup of the Year awards is an opportunity to share our unique technology with an even larger audience and shed light on the endless possibilities it can offer to both individual businesses and industries as a whole.

Final Thoughts

The field of information security is quite complex and conservative, so the emergence of new solutions that change the very approach to things does not immediately find resonance in the industry. We hope that companies will give more opportunities to young startups so that the world becomes more innovative and the lives of people and companies become simpler and more cost-effective.