1. Who are you and where do you come from?
We (Volker Haupt, Inko Lorch and Jakob Semmler) are the founders of bugshell. Volker is our main contact for all inquiries from our customers. He comes from Nuremberg and his mission is to support medium-sized companies in sustainable digitalization. Inko is our tech and cybersecurity expert. The Swabian native has set himself the goal of driving forward the evolution of IT security and ensuring more exchange in the cyber security community. Jakob Semmler comes from the Sauerland. He takes care of strategic direction and communications bugshell’s benefits to the public.

2. Please briefly describe your product or solutions
Bugshell is a cybersecurity platform for conducting penetration testing and phishing simulations. With bugshell, security gaps in the IT of companies can be identified easily and transparently. Bugshell is backed by the concentrated expertise of a European IT security community. The special thing about bugshell is that as soon as a security gap is identified in their system, customers can close it directly and have it tested again. Bugshell only uses European servers and only works with European cybersecurity experts.

3. What was or is your biggest challenge?
We all had the classic difficulties that a startup can have in the initial phase. From personal setbacks, realignment of the business model, restructuring of the founding team, to problems in platform development. But with every setback came opportunities. We can therefore be proud of the development status of our platform and the satisfaction of our customers. We see the greatest challenge in offering the best service for our customers and community.

4. Which are your target markets/target groups?
We currently focus on medium-sized companies in the DACH market. We see the greatest need for more IT security there. However, we want to offer our services to other companies and countries in the EU in the future. The same is true of our cybersecurity community. We are currently particularly looking for experienced penetration testers from the DACH market. Of course, EU pentesters are also welcome.

5. What are your goals at HANNOVER MESSE?
We want to convince our target group, medium-sized companies, of the advantages of our platform and community approach to penetration tests. However, it is also important for us to inform the public about the current cyber security situation in Germany and the EU.