The Dream of Creating the World's Best Security Solution that Can Be Carried on A Spaceship

Choi Myoung Kyu, CEO of Lockin Company

2016.01.08

I have never seriously asked myself, 'Why am I doing business?' recently. I started a company because I wanted to create the solution I needed myself, and since then, I have led the company through many trials and errors and countless difficulties. I have led the company for two years, thinking that if I just keep going, I will see something. Although I am not sure what I can see yet, I am trying to vaguely reveal the reality. I created a product, received investment, joined many new members, and moved the office to Pangyo, Gyeonggi-do. The company is growing like a growing child without me knowing it, and I also want to continue to grow unwaveringly as the CEO of a company, so I am starting this contribution.

In 2012, while working as a game hacking defense manager at a large game company, I first began to seriously consider smartphone security. At the time, illegal access and hacking made smartphone service itself impossible, so I had to devise defenses against game hacking from various directions. In a situation where mobile games were growing to the point where they were comparable in popularity to PC games, from the user’s perspective, the tool for playing games had simply changed from PC to mobile, but the security methods for PCs and smartphones were completely different. I started looking for a solution that applied a security method suitable for smartphones among the products already on the market. However, the existing products were all products with too low security consisting of early security models, and most of them were just converting the security methods used on PCs to smartphones.

In the end, the need was clear, but there were no products available for purchase. I continued to wonder why there were no such products on the market. Offline and online converged on smart devices, and I thought that the security paradigm itself had to change from PC to mobile. I decided to make the product that was needed now. Rather than thoroughly analyzing the market size or situation, I was led to the path of entrepreneurship by an unknown force that led me to create the product I needed right now with my own hands.

I have been working as a security team leader in the field for over 10 years, but starting a company and creating a solution seemed like a completely different level of problem. I started due to the need for smartphone security, but the smartphone itself was first released in 2007 as Apple's iPhone, which combined the three main functions of mobile phone, smartphone, and internet, and was based on iOS, so the business itself was not long. Android started with version 1.0 in 2008, and in Korea, Samsung's Galaxy series equipped with the Android OS was first introduced in June 2010, and its distribution speed increased at a lightning speed, almost replacing existing analog phones. The number of applications (hereinafter referred to as apps) used on smartphones increased from only 2,000 in the Google Play Store in 2009 to 1.87 million as of December this year.

However, the rapid app development that was created as if it had been waiting for this did not pay much attention to ‘protection’ other than ‘creation’. In fact, there were no security solutions that could protect it. Since the mobile security market had not yet blossomed, the market entry of large corporations and mid-sized security companies was minimal, and many products were limited to changing existing PC security into mobile versions. However, smartphone hacking also sprouted up considerably in line with the growing smartphone market, and it has become a fuse in our society. According to one report, 87% of the iOS TOP 100 have experienced hacking incidents, and Android is even more serious, explaining that 97% of the TOP 100, excluding only 3%, have experienced hacking incidents. In the case of actual smartphone games, there are many cases of hacking immediately after release, and many new games are suffering because of this. In addition, all apps, including banking apps and apps that allow payment, apps containing important information used within companies, and apps used by government offices, are currently being targeted by hacking. Because of this, service providers and developers who were busy just creating could not expect much security even if they purchased and applied a security solution. I wanted to create a solution that could be used in the easiest and fastest time possible, and I released the solution after a development process of about two years. Our product, which met the needs of customers who wanted to use a trustworthy app without exposing important information while ensuring sufficient safety of the service, became popular through word of mouth. Mobile app protector ‘LIAPP (LOCKIN APP PROTECTOR)’ is a cloud-based Android app source code protection service that blocks various hacking, forgery, and debugging. Mobile apps are safely protected by applying LIAPP. LIAPP has received good responses from public institutions, financial institutions, and general companies in just one year since its release. It is also the first product that convinced me that the product concept and development motivation I had in mind initially matched the market demand.

The business that started with the simple idea of ​​making a product that I would use myself went through many difficulties. It did not end with just the product release. Even mid-sized security companies were unable to present a new paradigm for mobile security, and there were fierce suspicions that they could not trust a small company. At first, they competed with their technological prowess and made a name for themselves through business partnerships with multinational companies, and they built a network by being selected as a member of the top three domestic accelerators. As security experts who shared the same vision became part of the company, they began to steadily lay the foundation for a growing mobile security company. Then, in November of last year, they successfully attracted the first domestic mobile security company investment from the Industrial Bank of Korea, giving them strong wings to realize their dream of Lockin Company.

The original style of not making plans

They only look 3-5 years ahead

Planning for the sake of planning is a waste of energy

Now, they focus on creating the best solution

I am the style of not making plans. I only look 3-5 years ahead. Plans for the sake of planning are easily modified when they meet the wall of reality, so I do not want to waste energy on this. I am only starting a business to realize the dream I currently have. Right now, I am focusing on creating the world’s best security solution. My dream is for the security solution we created to meet the IoT era, be loaded onto cars, spaceships, and go to the United States and Mars. If someone asks me in 5 years, “Why do you run a company?” What would I say? I cannot guarantee in this article that I will be able to achieve my dream of becoming the “No. 1 mobile security company.” We have not yet reached the 5th anniversary of our founding, which is called the death valley of startups, and we are continuously challenging ourselves to achieve solid growth by preparing various products to safely overcome the death valley that may come someday. However, when I see the LIAPP team sitting at their desks developing and discussing in the conference room to achieve the common goal that Lockin Company is trying to achieve, I have hopeful expectations that my current dream will come true. In 2016, I am now running a company to create the world’s best security solution.