Cyber security issues? This startup will help you out
As the world debates issues of cyber security, privacy laws and hacking, a 22-year-old aims to secure Indian cyber space networks with his startup, Lucideus
September 24, 2013 / 13:01 IST
Pranbihanga Borpuzari
During his college days, Saket Modi had become an 'agony aunt' and was privy to stories of lovers breaking up, cheating, suspicion and revenge. There was a good reason for that. In 2009, when 18-year-old Modi joined LNMIT, Jaipur, to graduate in Computer Science, he had acquired the reputation of a hacker."I had people coming up to me every day asking me to hack into someone's e-mail or chats. I had a tough time convincing people that I was not competent to hack into the servers of an e-mail operator nor did I want to," recalls Modi. A computer junkie since childhood, Modi began conducting tutorials for cyber security among fellow students starting from his first year in college.From conducting classes to starting a businessThe popularity of his classes with students flocking his classroom prompted Modi to spread out and he held free sessions across institutes in the Pink City. "By the end of the first year, I had a few friends joining me and we reached out to various colleges. The response was good and over weekends, I did a module for the classes with 16 hours of content," says Modi.By end-2010, he expanded his base and took his classes up North to colleges and institutes in Delhi, with paid courses. It was only two years later, in May 2012, that his services crystallised into a formal venture, Lucideus Tech, a cyber security provider. "We got to know of Modi and invited him for a workshop in September 2011. Students were positive about the session and I was impressed with his conduct. I have over 10 years of experience, but in that session I learnt a lot from a young boy. His practical experience and knowledge was good," says ASN Chakravarthy, Associate Professor, Department of CSE, JNTU College of Engineering, Kakinada. The startup has covered over 100 colleges in India including IITs in Mumbai, Delhi, and Guwahati and has trained over 15,000 students with its vertical called Training Business.'A Smart Hacker Can Cheat Firewalls'After launching his firm and raking in over 100 clients (Modi is unwilling to share names citing confidentiality), he had to delegate the task of conducting seminars at institutes to a team of trainers so that he could service corporates with web space penetration technique (WSPT), as a second business vertical."There is something called Deep Web, which is almost like a parallel internet. It is a complex Web that is exclusive and not everyone is allowed. People do not even know it exists," says Modi, who is CEO of Lucideus. He says information available here cannot be found on Google and cannot be indexed either. Modi became a member of a number of Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channels and communities for hackers and in the process saw a huge gap between the teaching and reality."I met hackers who could hack into some of the biggest banks in the world," mentions Modi. Corporates falsely assume that hiding behind firewalls, intrusion prevention systems and antivirus keeps them safe, he explains. "What corporates do not realize is that such software is written for the masses and for known threats. A smart hacker will write a code whose signature is not picked up by any firewall or antivirus," says Modi, who realised it was a question of reverse engineering.Prevention Against Cyber Attacks Is ImportantModi conducted scans for a few big companies to prove their systems were prone to being hacked. Once a scan is completed, Lucideus compiles a vulnerability report stating the problem areas. Lucideus offers an annual contract which provides 24x7 access to services to corporates. Pricing is customized and is based on the nature of the requirement of the security systems. According to Achal Kaushal, Director of the Delhi-based online performance marketing company, TrooTrac Media Pvt Ltd, prevention against cyber attacks is important for online businesses. "We sensed there was a breach in our systems. There were instances when our routine operations were stalled because of malware," informs Kaushal. Modi and his team found the problems, fixed them and blocked potential risks.Ear To The GroundModi says his eyes are firmly on the underground market so that he remains updated on the new exploit which can be unveiled by a hacker anywhere in the world. "There are times when we buy the exploit, develop the patch and give it to our employers," explains Modi. For the first fiscal in operations, Lucideus has clocked in a turnover of Rs 4 crore and expects to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40 percent this financial year.Other Posts Easy Note Flying High Insure Your Employees Third in line Capital Concerns: India's Young Brigade in the ValleyYou can send your feedback on smementor@moneycontrol.com or simply post comments below Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
