By Lauren Keyson
Navroop Mitter, CEO, and co-founder of Gryphn, has created an invisible security solution for mobile phones that he thinks can change the world.
Along with his two co-founders, he is creating a virtual bodyguard for a smartphone that is enabled with a swipe of a finger across the screen.
He is bringing out his new mobile security prototype in the next two days.
It’s the company’s third prototype, and it is built out to a nearly alpha-ready product. While the specific details are still under wraps, it is a text and messaging privacy and security app that is so simple to use.
It has many security purposes, including the ability to send health records, payments, and other transactions securely over a cell phone. Currently, Mitter and his co-founders are putting in features that they know people really want in terms of types of control once they have protected messaging.
He talked about the problem that his new app will fix “Anything people send or create on their phones and send out, they automatically lose control over. Either if they send it out or whether it was maliciously taken out, if you created something, whether it’s private or not, you no longer have control over it. The receiver could be forwarding it on or using it wherever they want” he said
Renzo Cuadros, manager in Accenture’s security practice commented on what Mitter is doing, “I think it’s cool that he is looking into mobile security. I actually text more than I use the phone now, and nobody ever talked about securing it. It’s kind of scary even just thinking about the amount of information that goes back and forth over text messaging now. It’s time that someone looks into securing it and he is the right guy to do it. He has of way of simplifying technology in his communications and gets straight to the crux of the point. He doesn’t go into massive technical jargon even though he can do that. From a technology side, he always had an amazing ability to find the right people at the right time to help solve problems.
Due to his strong work ethic that keeps him up all night, the first prototype was created in a relatively short time. He gave an example to explain why he works such long hours “On Sunday I had to create information about our company and product to submit to a competition related to startup pitches,” he said. “It had to be completed by Monday at noon. With limited time, I also had to finish up legal work and line up the engineers, so I pulled a 36-hour no-sleep shift. I just kept going around the clock. On Tuesday it was my brother’s birthday in DC, so we went out to dinner. It was almost at 48 hours before I finally went to sleep. If push comes to shove and something has to get done, we find a way to do it.”
Mitter has degrees in biomedical engineering and religion, and he said those subjects run in the family. “One of my grandfathers is a professor of theology, my grandmother was a professor of Punjabi literature, and my other grandfather is a world-famous engineer. I drew from all of them.”
Currently, the Gryphn team is looking to move their development to New York City, and Mitter said that he would like the office to be near the Village because it fits his personality and is located near the macaroni restaurant SMAC. “I like to eat there – I absolutely love macaroni and cheese.
