Being a finalist at Technovation 2015 means competing against over 400 apps from 64 different countries. The challenge? To build an app in just a few months that would help solve real-world problems such as sports concussions or childhood obesity.
I had the pleasure of leading the “Security By the Numbers” workshop at Technovation 2015 #wpitch2015. This workshop is designed to help the young finalists visualize themselves as entrepreneurs and transition their prototypes into market-ready apps.
So what defines a market-ready app? Increasingly, the answer is security. From the continuous stream of high-profile data breaches to the rising prevalence of malicious apps on Android, the lack of app security has proven to be a gold mine for cybercrime. In fact, a recent study by IBM found that the cost of data breach could be as high as $300 per single lost record and $154 per record on average.
As with all good design, app security is not a simple afterthought. That’s because security to the app is like a shell to a turtle, it’s a skeletal structure that needs to be designed for.
This workshop used an AVG app with over a million users to illustrate three key principles of app security:
- Prevention – What are some common mistakes and vulnerabilities?
- Detection – What are the tools and resources for detecting malicious activity?
- Continuous Monitoring – How do you implement a robust monitoring infrastructure?
This was particularly beneficial for the students because it provided them a glimpse into the technical infrastructure and monitoring that can support a large scale mobile application.
My favorite feedback from the workshop was “Technovation was an enlightening experience and helped me see this as a career, this workshop helped me understand what it would take to take my ideas to market.”
It was an inspiration to be surrounded by so many bright, driven and accomplished young women. I’m excited to see a future with a more diverse and inclusive tech industry!
AVG Technologies @AVGFree is a gold sponsor of Technovation thanks to the efforts of Anar Simpson @AnarSimpson, Todd Simpson @ToddSimpson and Judith Bitterli @JudithBitterli.
Mariya Snow @mariyasnow is a Senior Engineer at AVG Technologies.
