WIBU-SYSTEMS AG ran a hacker competition during HANNOVER MESSE 2017 to showcase the new Blurry Box’s encryption technology and prove its reliability. After all, only encryption that can be demonstrated to be secure meets industry's requirements for the increase in networking resulting from Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things. And it delivered the proof with aplomb by beating off all comers of all nationalities, who failed to break through the new software protection technology.

WIBU-SYSTEMS AG says that hundreds of hopefuls from all over the world struggled for three weeks to penetrate the Blurry Box software shield around a computer game, but to no avail. Although two challengers submitted respectable attempts to the independent panel of judges made up of leading IT security experts from the Horst Görtz Institute (HGI) and the Institute for Internet Security - if(is), none managed to hack the software protection. The panel therefore decided that the 50,000-euro prize money was not earned, but awarded the two best contestants 1,000 euros each in recognition of their worthy attempts. The remainder will now be invested in further research and development activities.

The Blurry Box software shield, which was co-developed by the Competence Center for Applied Security Technology (KASTEL) at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT), the FZI Research Center for Information Technology and WIBU-SYSTEMS AG, already won the German IT Security Prize in 2014. Following its integration into CodeMeter - the renowned universal technology for software publishers, device manufacturers and mechanical and plant engineers on which WIBU-SYSTEMS bases all its solutions - Blurry Box has now publicly proved its credentials by winning this contest. "The Internet is a kind of digital battlefield nowadays," explains Oliver Winzenried, the CEO and founder of WIBU-SYSTEMS. "Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things call for the best protective mechanisms. I consider it our mission to safeguard the key values in companies and our private lives." Prof. Norbert Pohlmann, Director of the Institute for Internet Security - if(is) and one of the judges, adds: "I think it's a great idea for manufacturers to publicly challenge people to 'hack' their products, as this helps make security more transparent and establishes trust. This contest was also a very good opportunity for the 'hackers' to learn about IT security."