Mobile game app takes first place in Cybersecurity Pitch Competition
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Three finalist teams duked it out for first prize in the Cybersecurity Pitch Competition at Boise Entrepreneur Week Wednesday.
It was a reverse pitch competition, meaning teams were presented with a problem in the cybersecurity industry and were tasked with proposing a solution in the form of a new venture. Teams had just under four minutes to pitch their idea to a panel of three judges.
First up was Gamified Scam Awareness Training, or GSAT, created by University of Idaho students Achiraya Anantachote, Deanna Kienbaum and McKenna Jacobs.
GSAT is a mobile app that teaches people how to recognize texting and mobile pop-up scams through playing a game on their phones. Players who win in the game are rewarded with gift cards from GSAT sponsors.
“Idaho is actually number two in the nation in per capita, for these types of technical scams, especially affecting the very young and the elderly,” explained Anantachote.
Next up was Boise State University student Dallin Baird. Baird’s venture, Cyber Shield Elite, provides a centralized repository of threat intelligence among a collective of organizations, conjoined with machine learning capabilities to bolster automated response and filter the excess noise in cybersecurity monitoring.
“So, we have a community-driven approach we’re able to improve protection as well as remediation by supplying additional intelligence,” Baird told the judges.
Last to take the stage were David Trail, Ian King, Nathan Higley, and Sophia Sivula from the University of Idaho. Their venture is called NADIS, which offers a freemium single-app experience to unify zero-trust practices within an organization. NADIS targets small businesses that are overwhelmed by the many complex options for implementing zero trust.
“Our goal is to expand our serviceable available market throughout all small businesses providing our architecture through a local application for the people the industry prefers,” Sivula said.
After about a 10-minute deliberation, the judges had their winner. GSAT won first place and took home a $12,000 check.
Cyber Shield Elite and NADIS tied for second, each taking earning $4,000.
“You all did a phenomenal job,” the judges remarked.
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