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Co-founder of "Ki" Priscilla Sharuk, woke up one morning to find all her major accounts hacked! She had used a weak password for all her email and social media accounts, trying to avoid the hassle of remembering many complicated passwords. This is a fairly common inconvenience with the majority of smartphone and computer users, no one likes using complex variations of a single password by using numbers and characters, or even using different passwords for each account which is even more tedious — we often forget which password works for which account. THIS is the frustration that inspired Ki.
All password users suffer one way or another.
Using complex passwords is a bit safer, but forgetting it means you go through the annoying process of recovering account access by email, while not-so digital savvy users ask power users to recover the password for them, basically most people's mums, dads, aunts, and uncles. Seriously we love them but what a drag!
We sacrifice time and energy for the benefit of our online security, but is there a better way? Co-founders of Ki Priscilla Sharuk and Antoine Jebara not only believe so, but they’re working on 2 exciting solutions: one is an app for average users, and the other is a device for corporations.
How Ki Works
You get to work and let’s say you use an RFID card to login, the "Ki" app will automatically do that for you. If you sit on your laptop then it will access all your accounts, if you step away say to have a cup of coffee, Ki will send you a push notification that asks you if you want to stay logged in or not. So it’s safe to say that they’re nailing it in the convenience department, you only need to have your phone on and within close proximity when you need to access your devices.
Browser plugins usually log you in while saving your passwords in the cloud — Ki however keeps your passwords on your phone and simply logs you in by using location targeting. Ki takes advantage of the fingerprint sensor in the later iPhones and the Samsung S5. The feature will be there when other devices also start using fingerprint sensors, but this doesn’t mean that older devices can’t use the app another way.
Features
One of the cool features is automatic generation of smart strong passwords. There’s also a scheduled password changer that will help those who are security conscious each year, month, week or day. Seamless and effortless safety precaution that usually relied on your memory
There’s also the one-time password, which allows you to share an accessible password with your friend or colleague so they can access your account only once, without you worrying about having to change your password afterwards.
Ki's founders are currently decided on a freemium model, offering the basic features for free, and more advanced features for a small fee. They might eventually decide to integrate payments using the phone depending on the market's potential, Sharuk said “it’s a bit premature to confirm that we’re going to take this path for now.”
Ki: The Device
Ki are preparing a number of devices to be sold to corporate enterprises in December . Jebara commented “It was a bit difficult to build the devices due to the lack of availability of components. We would wait a month before I can sit down and get the components together.” Priscilla added: “Building hardware is a bit of a challenge in the region, this is one of the reasons why we wanted to create the mobile app, and password managers on Android alone have 150 million users.”
Ki: The App
The app is for the average consumer, “no one wants to carry an extra device in their pocket,” the Ki founders realized after several interviews. “They’re already carrying their phone, car keys, wallet, sunglasses, etc…” This idea dawned on the founders after creating the Ki device. The Ki app is obviously much more convenient for most people, and it will be available in beta sometime next month.
“The app has a pin code, and it needs to be paired with a trusted computer for it to work the first time, this makes it more difficult for hackers to steal the phone or password.” says Jebara.
Security
The mobile device is very difficult to hack. The app’s encryption is strong and the app is very well built, it is much safer than using one password for all accounts, or combinations of the same password. Jebara reassures us “Security measures are very high, and we’re working hard to make sure that everything users enter stays secure at the highest level.”
Joining a Startup Accelerator
The Ki founders were considering joining a startup accelerator at the time of the interview, only a couple of days later they informed us they were selected amongst the top 5% to join accelerator Startup Sauna and Slush 2014, and will be heading to Helsinki on October 20th for a month.
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