A startup that has its tech growth coronary heart in Belgium helps builders within the banking sector produce safe code via a platform that makes use of gamification know-how.
Safe Code Warrior was based three years in the past by CEO Pieter Danhieux and chief know-how officer Matias Madou. It’s at the moment serving to banks cut back safety vulnerabilities in code.
Danhieux and Madou knew one another from college, however their roads separated when one moved to the US and the opposite to Australia.
Once they met once more three years in the past at a commerce honest, they determined to merge the IT firms that they had developed individually.
“We have now been constructing our platform for over a 12 months,” stated Madou. “We did so in shut cooperation with numerous banks in Australia, which had been our launching clients.
“In 2016, we introduced our product to the market, and with the enterprise capital now we have now picked up, we will realise worldwide progress rapidly.”
Innovation in Bruges
The corporate now has 4 operations: London, Sydney and Boston, with its analysis and growth centre in Flemish Bruges. “A part of the capital injection flows to the analysis and growth centre, and we actively cooperate with academies and universities in Belgium,” stated Madou. “Our coaching platform and real-time steering are developed there.”
The corporate has additionally been capable of acquire subsidies from the nationwide innovation centre in Belgium (VLAIO), supported by the federal government.
Gamification and coach
The platform affords gamification, during which tournaments are used to extend the safety consciousness amongst builders.
By coaching modules, builders can construct their expertise, in addition to obtain a certification that establishes they’ve adopted the coaching via and handed the exams.
“The subsequent step is a software on our SaaS-platform that coaches the developer when writing safe code,” stated Madou.
“The second a mistake is made or a developer makes an unsafe selection, this software factors it out and tries to assist the developer with the precise selections to construct safe software program.”
Concentrate on banks, tech firms and telcos
In the meanwhile, Safe Code Warrior focuses on the banking sector. As well as, know-how firms and telcos are vital focus markets. “Banks are literally software program firms with a banking license these days, which is why they profit from our platform,” he stated.
ING has been a buyer within the Netherlands for over two years and different Dutch banks additionally use Safe Code Warrior.
“We discover that [innovative banks] like ING are open to gamification and agile working, however so far as the adoption of this sort of new enterprise is anxious, they’re slower than tech firms, for instance,” stated Madou. “That’s the reason we are actually focusing extra on the banks in Europe.”
Builders change into superheroes
When a developer has handed his first examination on the platform, he’s a “degree 1 safe code warrior”.
“Safety is just not by default a preferred facet in software program growth,” he stated. “Many builders regard it as one thing that runs within the background and they aren’t very comfy with it.
“We wish to create a form of superhero picture. Once you participate in coaching, tournaments and hackathons, you change into a warrior: somebody who defends cyber house.”
Danhieux stated: “This additionally suits with the gamification facet of the platform. There’s all the time a little bit of a damaging environment round safety and we wish to strategy it from the constructive facet.
“We don’t wish to flip builders into hackers, however we wish to make them defenders by instructing them easy methods to write safe code. This manner, they’ll change into a “warrior” that is aware of what can go mistaken on the web and the way he can shield his functions in opposition to it.”
Seamless integration with IDEs
The Safe Code Warrior platform works seamlessly with generally used built-in growth environments (IDEs) and the coaching helps 17 programming languages, together with very previous ones similar to Cobol, but additionally new, cell languages similar to Kotlin.
Most IDEs have already got debuggers and computerized replenishment. Nonetheless, the Safe Code Warrior platform works otherwise.
“Most IDEs do certainly have numerous pointers, however they typically focus extra on high quality and efficiency,” he stated. “We focus very particularly on safety. The developer is guided in writing safe code.”
Sooner or later, the teaching software could also be prolonged to totally different programming languages, however “since many monetary establishments work with .Internet and Java, that’s now our main focus”.
Supporting legacy
This focus additionally has to do with the legacy software program that may nonetheless be discovered out there. However innovation and steady growth are excessive on the agenda of the Belgian entrepreneurs, which is why additionally they have a look at cell languages similar to Swift and Kotlin.
“Once they change into standardised, we wish to be prepared instantly,” stated Danhieux. “That’s the reason we’re at the moment doing loads of analysis in-house into new developments, similar to the web of issues and the way our platform can contribute to this. We wish to be prepared for the long run always.”
Enough consideration is at the moment being paid to safety within the boardroom of banks, tech firms and telcos, stated Madou.
“Latest knowledge breaches have made it clear how vital safe software program is,” he stated. “Board members are shocked once they realise the leaks are brought on by errors in software program that was written twenty years in the past.
“That’s the reason we see many boards now specializing in growing protected software program: safety by design. The strain on these three sectors to ship protected functions will solely enhance.”
Furthermore, the relevance has elevated with the brand new European laws, the GDPR.
Phrase of mouth
The entrepreneurs don’t but must actively promote their firm and platform. Madou stated: “We now have 60,000 builders on our platform and we discover these are virtually all ambassadors. They recognize the gamification, the educational facet and the certifications.”
He stated that as builders change jobs they typically take enthusiasm for the platform to their new employer. “Corporations are all the time in search of how they’ll information a big workforce of builders in writing protected code with few individuals and assets, however additionally they need a software that’s really utilized by builders. And what higher software than one that’s instructed by a developer himself? Sure, word-of-mouth promoting is a robust progress issue for our firm.”
Nonetheless, there’s work to be completed. “There are 22 million builders on the earth, of which there are actually 60,000 on our platform. So we’re completely not there but,” stated Madou.