Security on the go for Ohanae

Picture: Ohanae founder Greg Hauw with daughter Celia who thought up the company’s unique name.

Jan 15, 2008: Security on the go that is simple and effective to use, is the software product that won local firm Ohanae the Merit award in last year’s regional technology competition.

Using patent-pending technology, the software, Securworkplace, creates unique strong passwords for each online site, with anti-phishing and anti-key logging capabilities as well as military-grade data sanitisation and data protection at the end of an online transaction.

“We want to empower consumers to take control of their workplace and online transactions by providing them with a cutting-edge secure solution, and effective security must be easy to execute and simple to use, hence the need for Securworkplace,” says Greg Hauw, president and CEO of Ohanae, explaining what motivated him to set up the company.

He is also mindful of the need to identify the market niche and provide services and technologies that are not presently offered.

Ohanae is able to address the user’s need to combine security with portable computing. Securworkplace can be deployed through ubiquitous consumer gadgets such as USB flash drives, Apple iPODs, SD Plus memory cards and Smartphones, to allow secure online transactions anywhere and on any computer running Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Users need only use one simple keystroke for multiple sites logins, making Securworkplace an elegant and convenient software solution for personal single sign-ons. The unique aspect of this system is that the passwords are not stored on the portable storage media and gadgets, so they remain secure even if the user loses his portable storage media and gadgets containing Securworkplace.

In 2007, Ohanae scored a double by being named as one of the “100 Most-Promising Private Technology Ventures” at the Red Herring 100 Asia Award in August 2007, as well as one of the 200 finalists selected from 1,800 promising companies from around the world for the Red Herring 100 Global Awards 2007. The finalists were selected based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria such as financial performance, technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration into their ecosystem.

In November during the Asia-Pacific Information and Communication Technology Alliance (APICTA) competition in Singapore, Ohanae won the Merits award in the Startup category.

Mr Hauw says 2008 will be an even more exciting year for Ohanae as Securworkplace will be deployed nationwide early in the year as part of the Wireless@SG initiative which is part of the iN2015 master plan. Securworkplace will also make its overseas debut at the RSA Conference in April 2008, in San Francisco.

To pave its foray into the global market, Ohanae will be partnering a USB flash drive controller vendor. It will also work with one of the largest online payment vendor to enhance secure online user experience.

What’s in Ohanae?

The unusual name “Ohanae” is the brainchild of Mr Hauw’s 11-year-old daughter, Celia who says she was inspired by the Lilo and Stitch Disney cartoon series. The series is about a Hawaiian girl who adopts an unusual pet who is actually a notorious extra-terrestrial fugitive from the law. “Ohana” as part of Hawaiian culture, means family in an extended sense, including both blood-related and other members. Mr Hauw added an “e” at the end of Ohana for the trademark application.

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