Nitrokey: securing technical infrastructure with open source

Who is...

Jan Suhr

Jan Suhr

Jan Suhr, CEO of Nitrokey.

Company profile

Nitrokey

The interview

Q: What is your name?

Hello, I'm Jan Suhr, founder and CEO of Nitrokey in Germany.

Q: What is your product?

Nitrokey is a Berlin-based company founded in 2015 that specialises in the open source development of computer security hardware for data encryption, key management and user authentication. Our function is to provide physical infrastructure and technology for the protection of IT products such as computers, smartphones, USB sticks, and modules as well as the data stored on these media.

We provide secure technical physical infrastructure for crucial IT products: secure laptops, smartphones, USB keys, software modules. We sell the hardware and services (integration, consulting, logistics, customization)

Q: Is it SaaS? PaaS? IaaS? Other?

Hardware with accompanying Open Source Software.

Q: Are you a market leader? Who do you consider leader in your market? Does GAFAM play any role in your market?

We are still a small player. We have no external funding to keep independence. We are currently doubling revenue each year and now have around 20 staff.

Q: What components did you develop yourself?

We have our own hardaware security modules and an innovative software stack with verified microkernel and unikernel package software system. Our whole stack is open source.

Q: Can you name user or clients of your solution? Preferably in the CAC40, DAX30, Fortune500, European governments?

We have clients around the world, most in countries with strong industrial footprint, so Germany and all of Europe of course as well as in the US.

Q: Why did this client choose your solution rather the solution of the market leader or GAFAM?

Nitrokey is usually selected by customers because we are open source and a trusted company from Germany. We provide secure quality products with excellent service. We actually don't do any marketing, all of our customers are from word of mouth.

Q: What European policies do you suggest to ensure sustainable development of your technology and its adoption?

We need more European legislation to promote European technologies. Europe should also have an equivalent to the american Small Business Act, which ensures that a certain amount of public spending goes to small enterprises. We also require better legislation for open source.

Q: Tell us about a successful implementation. How did you implement it, why was it a success, where is this implementation today? Plans for the future? How is the relation with the client? Did the client help you get other clients?

One of our early clients was using our HSM (hardware security modules) for a European government. We implemented quite a few custom requirements for this client allowing to get real feedback from a real large scale potential user and an very early stage of our product development. Another client uses our Nitrokey user authentication devices in a large European country to ensure authenticity of vaccination center data on national level. Our client provides logistics services to hundreds of locations and is using our security hardware all through the Covid pandemic and until today.