Jersey City-based Acreto IoT Security has been named one of the 14 AcceliCITY finalist by Leading Cities, a nonprofit for smart city growth and collaboration.
The AcceliCITY program is focused on identifying and supporting technology companies that can drive change in global smart city initiatives.
To select the finalist, a panel of smart city experts narrowed down 500 entries from 43 countries to 14.
“In the few short months since we began this year’s AcceliCITY program, we have seen a dramatic increase in cyber-security incidents affecting critical infrastructure for many cities, both large and small. From ransomware to financial fraud and election theft, cities are under siege by sophisticated hackers. Acreto’s cloud-based platform that protects any technology, on any network, anywhere, is a game-changing offering that addresses this challenge head-on,” Michael Lake, CEO of Leading Cities, said.
“This is a fundamentally new approach to cyber-security, providing a security utility for all connected technologies. Not only does it provide comprehensive protection, but it does so with a simple and effective service that is long-lived. Acreto is guaranteed to be sustainable for 20 years, which means cities don’t have to scramble every few years to upgrade and update their security systems,” he said.
Acreto is a cloud-based Security-as-a-Utility platformed designed to protect mobile, distributed and enterprise computing environments. It also delivers security across the many different technologies that cities are dependent upon, including connected devices, applications, clouds, offices and users.
Acreto will soon be competing in the final stage of the program — a boot camp in Boston from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 — where it will have a chance to connect with potential clients and investors.
“Many small cities have paid $500,000 or more in ransom for their hijacked systems. They are being attacked by nation-state bad actors, terrorist organizations and organized crime to fund nefarious activities. And cities remain vulnerable due to the lack of expertise and resources. The bad guys know this and have amplified their efforts. In addition to insecure IT systems, connected devices / IoTs used in day-to-day city operations have exacerbated the situation. Our team is dedicated to solving this problem with a robust security utility that is simply turned on and can be used for the entire lifetime of any technology platform,” Thad Eidman, chief operating officer, Acreto, said.
All finalists have already earned approximately $100,000 in global marketing through bee smart city, a Leading Cities partner that connects smart city solutions to communities.
Click here to see the rest of the finalists.
