Trusnetix Technologies…a startup that is committed to cybersecurity and more

ABOUT THE STARTUP WORLD

"Cybersecurity is something which we will always continue to need in some form or other. Yet, only a few people have access to a secure digital experience. This lack of security and awareness causes huge losses of money, sensitive data and peace of mind. Society will be highly benefited from awareness of different cyber crimes and the right tools and skills to defend against them. Neither of these two very important facets of security is available to the masses, especially in remote and rural areas and we aim to change that in the shortest possible time"- Shubhasmit Malakar

Please tell us everything in detail about Trusnetix Technologies Private Limited?

My sister, Ananya Malakar and I founded Trusnetix in 2018 as a cybersecurity and IT services company. Over these years, we have provided cybersecurity services and training to companies and students while working on our own products. We have also developed apps for many startups and businesses. One of the latest apps that we have developed is for the Board of Secondary Education, Assam, named SEBA Spoken English App. We are also developing a new awareness App for Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat. Last year, we released a service called Maps by Trusnetix, which is a mapping service critically essential for hyper-local businesses. Maps by Trusnetix will become part of a software suite that we are developing, which will be very useful for different online businesses. Apart from all this, we conduct a lot of awareness and professional training in cybersecurity. Many of our professional training students usually go ahead and have a very good start in their careers in the popular field of ethical hacking and IT.

Please elaborate on your entrepreneurial journey? In other words please highlight your challenges and milestones?

My entrepreneurial journey can be traced back to my everlasting interest in computers. As a child, I would go to my parents' office to learn how to use one. While at college, I started working as a freelancer designing websites, posters and t-shirts and editing photos and videos. I also learned ethical hacking from various mentors and got very engrossed in it. I went to Delhi for a while to learn more while continuing my freelancing career, although now I was more focused on web design and ethical hacking. There I worked with a few businesses and learned a lot about entrepreneurship. With years of computing knowledge at my disposal now, I decided to come back to Guwahati and dedicate myself to uplifting the technological scenario of our state. We started training students of various colleges and universities, while also conducting awareness sessions for corporates. We hired the most meritorious of our students and expanded our services.

The initial success was encouraging and we had just about invested in our own offices when we were hit by the pandemic, which is still affecting our business a little. But now, we have mostly overcome the challenges caused by it and have gone on to achieve a few successes. We built our Maps by Trusnetix service and we have also built some very interesting projects for our clients.

Developing the SEBA Spoken English App envisioned by the Board of Secondary Education, Assam was a big milestone, as it has helped us in reaching a very wide audience while influencing the future leaders of our state and country. We also learnt a lot in the process of making this app, as we used technologies like Adaptive Artificial Intelligence and gamification of educational content. Needles to say students can learn many concepts of English using their native Assamese, Bangla and Bodo.

What was the basic inspiration behind your entrepreneurial venture? What is your vision and how do you want to link it to social good?

As I was always drawn to technology, I was deeply motivated to make a mark in this field. In the last few years, it has been clear that cybersecurity will continue to be in a lot of demand. As my interest was very much aligned with ethical hacking, we positioned ourselves as a cybersecurity and IT services company with one very important purpose-creating a cyber-secure world where digital security is comprehensively and affordably accessible for everyone. We envision a future where technology and technology education are not only easily available, but also safe and secure.

Cybersecurity is something which we will always continue to need in some form or other. Yet, only a few people have access to a secure digital experience. This lack of security and awareness causes huge losses of money, sensitive data and peace of mind. Society will be highly benefited from awareness of different cyber crimes and the right tools and skills to defend against them. Neither of these two very important facets of security are available to the masses, especially in remote and rural areas and we aim to change that in the shortest possible time.

How did you manage investors or funding support? How important are professional mentors in an entrepreneur's life while he or she is starting?

Our company has always been bootstrapped and we have never really been interested in external funding. While funding can be great for many startups, Ananya and I have felt like it is not for us yet. For now, we just want to sell our services as much as possible and uplift the lives of our customers and clients.

In a stroke of great fortune, we got associated with the dynamic and highly capable team at Assam Startup, The Nest. This team not only helped us survive during the pandemic by selflessly connecting us to the right people at the right time but also helped us focus more on what is important. I will always be sincerely grateful to every member of that team for everything they have done for Trusnetix and for extending me a hand of lifelong friendship. With the amount of mentorship I have received, I cannot overemphasize the sheer importance of great mentors in terms of guiding and shaping budding entrepreneurs. Simply stated, capable mentors can guide entrepreneurs to great success through the shortest possible path and help them to steer clear of perilous decisions and heart-breaking failures.

Please elaborate on the current and future prospects of ethical hacking?

The fields of ethical hacking and cybersecurity are exciting right now, with a high and pronounced demand for cybersecurity professionals across the world. There were more than 3 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs in 2021 and the situation is still mostly the same. There are various career paths in this field, like cybersecurity analysts, who have an average salary of more than $80,000/- per annum, cybersecurity architects who earn more than $100,000/ and bug bounty hunters who even earn up to $500,000/- in a year. In the financial year of 2019-2020, Indian bug bounty hunters earned more than rupees thirty-five crore, which was amazingly 10% of all the earnings of all the bug bounty hunters around the world.

One of the great things about this field is that it is surprisingly easy to start a career in it. One just needs the proper training and great mentorship along with a few months of practice to get started.

With the advancements in technology, it is apparent that cybersecurity will always remain essential. Companies across different fields continue to invest billions of dollars in it and every government is taking stringent measures to keep their citizens safe. If you are as interested as I am in computers, I highly recommend learning ethical hacking as a prospective career option, a hobby or just an ace up your sleeve.

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