A Suffolk-based firm specialising in cyber security has been named as runner-up in a national competition for hi-tech start-up businesses.

Silicon Safe, which operates from a development centre at Innovation Martlesham, on BT’s Adastral Park site near Ipswich, was among the finalists in the Storage category of the Tech Trailblazers awards, open to firms up to five years old.

Co-founders Roger Gross and Will Harwood, both previously engineers with Citrix, launched Silicon Safe in 2013 to develop a hardware-based solution for data secruity.

They believe that their Password Protect system offers complete protection for usernames, passwords, biometrics and other sensitive data typically required for online transactions, with the hardware design making it impossible for hackers to steal data.

To back up its claims, the firm has launched a “Hacker Challenge” which offers a prize to anyone who can successfully hack the system, with more than 1.25million unsuccessful attempts having been made so far.

“It was an honour to be short-listed for the Tech Trailblazers awards,” said Roger Gross, chief executive of Silicon Safe.

“I’m delighted that we were runners-up in the Storage category against some very strong companies, especially from the USA. The award is independent confirmation that our technology is judged to have a bright, international future.”

Applications for patent protection, in both the UK and the US, are currently being reviewed and the company is about to start second-phase customer trials.

It says that, had its system been deployed, it would have prevented high-profile data breaches suffered by major names such as Sony Playstation, Adobe, Facebook and eBay.

For details of the Hacker Challenge, go to https:// challenge.siliconsafe.com/ .