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ENTREPRENEUR: MALAN JOUBERT | AT A TENDER 24, Malan Joubert is already an automatic member of that club where computer nerds such as Steve Jobs and Mark Shuttleworth share secret handshakes and discuss topics like “hardware configuration”. Joubert is the founding member of FireID and is lending credibility to fledgling Silicon Cape’s status as South Africa’s version of Silicon Valley. The company was the first in the world to develop a system that provides a one-time password (OTP) authentication solution by generating secure passwords on users’ cellphones.
In non-geek speak, this time: it’s the technology that allows Internet users to receive PINs or passwords on their cellphones to log on to online banking or other websites. And it’s more secure than its competitors’ technology, thanks to Joubert and his nerds-in-arms, Justin Stanford and Erik van Vlaanderen.
While still a student at the University of Stellenbosch, Joubert was approached by Stanford, who was running an anti-virus distribution business at the time, to help expand its product line. Joubert and Stanford considered importing the small hardware devices some banks still issue for online banking passwords. However, the devices were expensive and Malan and Stanford realised it would be a cumbersome exercise to distribute to a mass market.
“So I played around with it a bit and rebuilt them,” says Joubert. “We then started toying with the feasibility of putting the device on to a cellphone.”
In a country where most residents own a mobile phone, the concept went viral. “We got serious about funding when competitors started moving in on the market,” says Joubert.
Joubert and Stanford approached business legend Johann Rupert, whose son was an old school acquaintance. Rupert had already invested serious sums in Silicon Cape, an initiative aimed at fostering a technology hub in the Western Cape. “He was quite amiable about the whole thing and gave us a four-month loan.”
The business took on a more formalised structure after that capital injection and it made its move into the United States where, along with other countries in North and South America, it distributes and resells its software. It also has a presence in Britain, parts of Europe and in New Zealand. In April the company announced it was partnering with Cirrus Management Solutions in Britain to expand in that market. Cirrus specialises in assisting technology vendors launch or grow their businesses.
FireID’s clients include Internet Solutions and Dimension Data.
Joubert’s concept is a modern version of an age-old attempt to keep information secret. As a child he was interested in cryptography, its most famous example being the Enigma machines used by the Germans in the Second World War. But unlike most children growing up in the Boland, his mathematics of sequencing passwords and encryption hobby turned into his career.
Why FireID’s concept is so super-duper is that the SMSs received by customers for logging on to online websites can’t be intercepted by people swapping SIM cards or corrupt cellphone operators. The software – which generates unique passwords – is loaded on to the user’s cellphone, enabling secure authentication. That the passwords aren’t sent via an SMS also means users can access passwords even if they don’t have signal on their phones.
Last year, a Vodacom employee was involved in SA’s biggest Internet scam to date – involving R7m in fraud – by intercepting bank SMSs and sending them to his accomplices.
“Our passwords aren’t sent via an SMS – that’s the key differentiator.” Joubert says many banks used SMS-generated passwords as a stop-gap solution to the growing trend of online banking. This created considerable work for the team. As consumers must be able to download the software on to their cellphones, thousands of different platforms had to be developed to cater for the variety of phones on the market. Imagine testing thousands of phones to see if the software installed properly and the world of IT suddenly seems it’s actually working hard for those fabulous riches the public always hear about.
However, none of SA’s large banks have rolled out FireID’s system. “It will take a while,” says Joubert. “It’s a paradigm shift that still needs to take place (in the banking industry).”
As a disciple of the “science of securing information”, Joubert wouldn’t mind taking a holiday from management and getting back into the development side of things. “But I have to say it’s been a heck of a lot of fun building this company.”
Joubert says the hardest part of running an international IT company is sourcing talent. People with IT training and a background in security are scarce. “The Government makes it hard to run an international IT business. This isn’t a two- or three-man show, it’s crucial (to get the right people) for us to compete globally.”
Since 2006, FireID has increased its staff from four to 35, with the bulk of the increase (from 12 to 35) taking place over the past year.
Thanks to an increase in hacking and Internet scams, FireID’s future is looking bright – and busy.
Joubert and Stanford plan to take FireID’s secure OTPs beyond banking into consumers’ living rooms. “A lot of attacks are happening on people’s personal accounts: we plan for our technology being used for personal email accounts and social networking sites. We think it’s plausible to release it to the consumer market – to make it accessible for people in their daily dealings with the Internet.”
So what’s left for a 20-something computer engineer who has the online security industry at his feet? Probably a quick surf and then some more work. “It might not make a lot of sense to say this, but I work for fun.”
TALKING HEADS
The hardest part of running your business?
Finding trained, capable employees.
The best part?
I love building things, adding value. I don’t think I can stop working anytime soon, although someday I’ll start taking more time off.
Hobbies?
I do rock climbing and surfing (when work doesn’t keep me busy).
Weirdly enough, I don’t really spend my money on tech gadgets.
Your philosophy?
Undefined. I really believe you should just let people be. My parents allowed me to be me – which worked out for everyone, I think.
VITAL STATISTICS
Age: 24.
Home town: Stellenbosch/Somerset West.
Education: Matriculated from Somerset College and graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in BEng electronics, with computer science (cum laude).
Marital status: Single.
Awards: FireID won the 2009 Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award for Mobile Two Factor Authentication.
Current position: Chief technical officer.
In non-geek speak, this time: it’s the technology that allows Internet users to receive PINs or passwords on their cellphones to log on to online banking or other websites. And it’s more secure than its competitors’ technology, thanks to Joubert and his nerds-in-arms, Justin Stanford and Erik van Vlaanderen.
While still a student at the University of Stellenbosch, Joubert was approached by Stanford, who was running an anti-virus distribution business at the time, to help expand its product line. Joubert and Stanford considered importing the small hardware devices some banks still issue for online banking passwords. However, the devices were expensive and Malan and Stanford realised it would be a cumbersome exercise to distribute to a mass market.
“So I played around with it a bit and rebuilt them,” says Joubert. “We then started toying with the feasibility of putting the device on to a cellphone.”
In a country where most residents own a mobile phone, the concept went viral. “We got serious about funding when competitors started moving in on the market,” says Joubert.
Joubert and Stanford approached business legend Johann Rupert, whose son was an old school acquaintance. Rupert had already invested serious sums in Silicon Cape, an initiative aimed at fostering a technology hub in the Western Cape. “He was quite amiable about the whole thing and gave us a four-month loan.”
The business took on a more formalised structure after that capital injection and it made its move into the United States where, along with other countries in North and South America, it distributes and resells its software. It also has a presence in Britain, parts of Europe and in New Zealand. In April the company announced it was partnering with Cirrus Management Solutions in Britain to expand in that market. Cirrus specialises in assisting technology vendors launch or grow their businesses.
FireID’s clients include Internet Solutions and Dimension Data.
Joubert’s concept is a modern version of an age-old attempt to keep information secret. As a child he was interested in cryptography, its most famous example being the Enigma machines used by the Germans in the Second World War. But unlike most children growing up in the Boland, his mathematics of sequencing passwords and encryption hobby turned into his career.
Why FireID’s concept is so super-duper is that the SMSs received by customers for logging on to online websites can’t be intercepted by people swapping SIM cards or corrupt cellphone operators. The software – which generates unique passwords – is loaded on to the user’s cellphone, enabling secure authentication. That the passwords aren’t sent via an SMS also means users can access passwords even if they don’t have signal on their phones.
Last year, a Vodacom employee was involved in SA’s biggest Internet scam to date – involving R7m in fraud – by intercepting bank SMSs and sending them to his accomplices.
“Our passwords aren’t sent via an SMS – that’s the key differentiator.” Joubert says many banks used SMS-generated passwords as a stop-gap solution to the growing trend of online banking. This created considerable work for the team. As consumers must be able to download the software on to their cellphones, thousands of different platforms had to be developed to cater for the variety of phones on the market. Imagine testing thousands of phones to see if the software installed properly and the world of IT suddenly seems it’s actually working hard for those fabulous riches the public always hear about.
However, none of SA’s large banks have rolled out FireID’s system. “It will take a while,” says Joubert. “It’s a paradigm shift that still needs to take place (in the banking industry).”
As a disciple of the “science of securing information”, Joubert wouldn’t mind taking a holiday from management and getting back into the development side of things. “But I have to say it’s been a heck of a lot of fun building this company.”
Joubert says the hardest part of running an international IT company is sourcing talent. People with IT training and a background in security are scarce. “The Government makes it hard to run an international IT business. This isn’t a two- or three-man show, it’s crucial (to get the right people) for us to compete globally.”
Since 2006, FireID has increased its staff from four to 35, with the bulk of the increase (from 12 to 35) taking place over the past year.
Thanks to an increase in hacking and Internet scams, FireID’s future is looking bright – and busy.
Joubert and Stanford plan to take FireID’s secure OTPs beyond banking into consumers’ living rooms. “A lot of attacks are happening on people’s personal accounts: we plan for our technology being used for personal email accounts and social networking sites. We think it’s plausible to release it to the consumer market – to make it accessible for people in their daily dealings with the Internet.”
So what’s left for a 20-something computer engineer who has the online security industry at his feet? Probably a quick surf and then some more work. “It might not make a lot of sense to say this, but I work for fun.”
TALKING HEADS
The hardest part of running your business?
Finding trained, capable employees.
The best part?
I love building things, adding value. I don’t think I can stop working anytime soon, although someday I’ll start taking more time off.
Hobbies?
I do rock climbing and surfing (when work doesn’t keep me busy).
Weirdly enough, I don’t really spend my money on tech gadgets.
Your philosophy?
Undefined. I really believe you should just let people be. My parents allowed me to be me – which worked out for everyone, I think.
VITAL STATISTICS
Age: 24.
Home town: Stellenbosch/Somerset West.
Education: Matriculated from Somerset College and graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in BEng electronics, with computer science (cum laude).
Marital status: Single.
Awards: FireID won the 2009 Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation Award for Mobile Two Factor Authentication.
Current position: Chief technical officer.
