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Exchange, insights, and inspiration—not just for startups in IT security and future communication technologies.

Events, workshops, and networking for startups

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Germany&#039;s leading B2B Startup Expo and ConferenceFuture Tech Fest is the largest B2B startup expo &amp; conference in Germany. With the event, we continue the successful event format that offers tech startups a platform to present their digital technologies to try out and feel. After seven successful years as Digital Demo Day, we are celebrating the innovations of tomorrow with a new brand in 2024 by bringing together startups, SMEs, companies, investors and universities to seek the digital transformation of the future. Future Tech Fest will take place on Thursday, September 10, 2026.

Conference

Fair

Future Tech Fest 2026

Teams or individuals can apply until January 15, 2026.The three best submissions will receive prize money: EUR 100,000 for first place, EUR 20,000 for second place, and EUR 10,000 for third place.The award ceremony will take place on November 5, 2026, as part of the Cybersecurity Innovation Conference in Bochum. Further information will follow.The jury for the 11th German IT Security Award will be chaired by Prof. Dr. Michael Waidner, Director of Fraunhofer SIT and Founding Director of the National Research Center for Applied Cybersecurity ATHENE.The jury brings together renowned experts from the fields of IT security, cryptography, system and network security, and cyber attack defense.The award ceremony is organized by the Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security at Ruhr University on behalf of the Horst Görtz Foundation, in cooperation with Bitkom e. V. and the National Research Center for Applied Cybersecurity ATHENE in Darmstadt.

Award ceremony

11. Deutscher IT-Sicherheitspreis

From 9–12 November 2026, Web Summit will bring together more than 70,000 founders, investors, technology leaders and media representatives at the MEO Arena and FIL in Lisbon. Across talks, masterclasses and networking formats, the event will explore emerging technologies, entrepreneurship and the future of the global tech industry. For cybersecurity and deep-tech startups, Web Summit offers valuable opportunities to gain international visibility, connect with investors and build partnerships.

Event

Web Summit Lisbon 2026

Founded in 2008 as a 250-person gathering, Slush has grown into the world’s leading startup event—bringing together a curated crowd of European startups, world-class investors, and tech journalists.

SLUSH 2026

The Senkrechtstarter Award is the highlight of the pitch competitions in North Rhine-Westphalia. On September 15, 2026, right in the heart of the Ruhr region, the top 5 startup teams from NRW will pitch to a distinguished jury and an enthusiastic audience—with live voting included. Participating in the live pitch at the Senkrechtstarter Award is a mark of quality that opens doors—to investors, partners, and new markets. Be there live on September 15, 2026, when the top 5 teams—selected from 121 applications—compete for the 2026 Senkrechtstarter Award.

Senkrechtstarter Award 2026

Meet other founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and members of the startup ecosystem; make new connections; and discuss ideas, current challenges, and experiences from everyday startup life in a relaxed atmosphere.Here’s what you can expect:<ul><li>Networking in a relaxed atmosphere – strike up conversations easily and make new connections</li><li>Exchange ideas on equal footing – with aspiring, young, and experienced founders</li><li>Rotating hosts and locations—new insights into Bochum’s startup scene</li><li>Snacks &amp; drinks—of course, those are taken care of too</li></ul>Whether you’re currently working on an initial idea, have already launched a startup, or simply want to get to know the community: Come by and chat with us!This time, we’ll be guests at the Center for IT Security in Bochum📅 When? September 17, 2026, starting at 5:30 p.m.📍 Where? Center for IT Security (ZITS) <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=/maps/place//data%3D!4m2!3m1!1s0x47b9202f1a09569f:0x87ae076d2f45b5e0%3Fsa%3DX%26ved%3D1t:8290%26ictx%3D111&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiKhdPA7I2WAxV_gP0HHRQOKSAQ4kB6BAg2EAM&amp;usg=AOvVaw0bD3ZauPGwX4BbnK-Rm27o">Lise-Meitner-Allee 4, 44801 Bochum</a>

get-together

Networking

Cube 5 get-together Q3/2026

The Innovation Congress is aimed at startups and established companies, as well as universities, economic development agencies, and policymakers. The Innovation Congress is organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection, and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.The congress offers workshops in six thematic hubs as well as information booths that facilitate direct interaction with experts to learn more about innovative projects, technologies, and partnerships in the region.The highlight of the event is the presentation of the NRW Innovation Award 2026. The award honors individuals with outstanding innovations that make a significant contribution to the state’s technological, economic, and social development.Registration deadline: September 18, 2026

Innovationskongress NRW 2026

The Center for Entrepreneurship &amp; Transfer at TU Dortmund University invites aspiring entrepreneurs from the regional ecosystem to the TU Start-up Award. The event centers on a pitch contest, in which startups present their business ideas in five-minute presentations to a jury and then answer the jury’s questions. A total of 14,000 euros in prize money will be awarded, supported by the wilo foundation.<a href="https://b24-f8knx0.bitrix24.site/tu-startupaward/">Apply here</a>The application deadline is September 27, 2026.Alongside the on-stage program, there will be an exhibition area at the innoclub CoWorkingSpace where startups can showcase their businesses and network with investors, companies, and others interested in entrepreneurship. Networking will take place throughout the event and will be complemented by discussions held during the event.

Workshop

TU Startup Award 2026

Cube 5 Horst-Goertz-Institute for IT Security Ruhr-Uni­ver­si­tät Bo­chum (Building MC 0/70) Uni­ver­si­täts­stra­ße 150 44780 Bo­chum

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Nachgehackt – the IT Security-Podcast Listen now on:

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News from the network

ATHENE Startup Award UP26@it-sa: Application period extended

ECSO Cyber Investor Days 2026 – Calling European Startups

Bochum-Based Cybersecurity Startup ENTRYZERO secures Seed Investment

70 Percent of all Cyber Attacks Encrypt Backups.

ECSO Cyber Investor Days 2026

ATHENE Startup Award UP25@it-sa: Apply now

Press release

Weekly top 5 hacker-relevant vulnerabilities now available on the IT security marketplace

Lead Transfer Manager*in (m/w/d)

Cube 5 featured in Tagesschau report

Awards & Prizes

11th German IT Security Award: New application deadline January 31, 2026

RIPS Technologies specialized in web application security and delivered a highly efficient software solution for the automated code analysis of web applications. Innovative static code analysis techniques enabled precise detection of even complex security vulnerabilities no other solution can detect. In 2020, RIPS Technologies was acquired by the Swiss company SonarSource and the technology got integrated into Sonar‘s Clean Code solution.

Cybersecurity

HGI Pioneers

Application Security

Detection & Response

RIPS Technologies > Sonar

Filen is engaged in the provision of client-side “zero-knowledge” encrypted cloud storage for the end customer market.Through uniquely implemented AES-256bit encryption, only the user knows his/her encryption key. This allows Filen to offer absolute privacy and security alongside all important cloud features in encrypted form.

Seed

Cloud Computing

Filen

Pelora turns standard Bluetooth signals into precise indoor Location data, enabling scalable automation, transparency, and optimization across industrial and logistics environments.

Communications

Pre-Seed

Future Communications Technology

PELORA

We create sustainable value with private wireless networks by ensuring high performance and availability for critical applications, even under changing environmental and operational conditions.

Pangolin Networks

AI now finds and weaponizes software vulnerabilities for the cost of an API call. For companies operating fleets of identical devices running the same binary, that turns a single exploit into a fleet-wide breach. Variant Security protects your fleet even when vulnerabilities, known or unknown, are present. We use off-the-shelf compilers to produce binaries that are functionally identical but structurally unique. Exploits are binary-specific, and each variant exists only on the device that runs it. We plug into your existing CI/CD with no source-code changes and no observable performance impact, and are already protecting fleets in aerospace, defense, and active conflict zones.

Software Security

Variant Security

Novoflect develops intelligent and reflective surfaces (RIS = Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces) for the future 6th generation of mobile communications (6G). These surfaces are to be designed in such a way that they can guide and control radio waves in a targeted manner, e.g. to efficiently close dead spots. To this end, suitable materials, design approaches and circuits will be investigated in order to develop a single reflective element for use in the GHz frequency range. The individual elements are then combined to form an array. By developing a phase shifter circuit and a control unit for the array, a demonstrator of the overall system will be created.

Novoflect

With tegolySIGN, you can bring the digital signature directly into your Microsoft Teams. Our product stands for fast and efficient contract processes that save you time and money. Take advantage of the benefits of digital signatures now and experience a new level of working methods. With tegolySIGN, you can digitize your contract workflow quickly and effectively.

Identity & Fraud

tegoly

XignSys provides technology to protect against cyber security incidents in digital ecosystems. The focus is on securing services and infrastructures through digital identity and access management solutions.The protection of digital identities is ensured with the help of established cryptographic methods and has been evaluated by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for its high level of trust in the eGovernment sector. XignSys offers additional products and services based on this technology.

Growth

XignSys

Simplyblock develops cyber block storage software for cross-cloud use that is suitable for supplementing and replacing both conventional company data storage systems and cloud-based block storage services in the high-performance segment.The focus is on the particularly secure storage of data in such scenarios.

simplyblock.io

With its IT security solutions and services, Ruhr Security GmbH addresses the demanding needs of large enterprises when it comes to the secure use of cloud infrastructures.Founded in 2022 in Bochum, Germany, we aim to expand the IT security industry with our experience in the areas of cloud system security, CI/CD environments and attack surface monitoring.

Data | Network Security | Infrastructure

Ruhr Security

The startup ITAR, short for “Innovative Test procedures for radio systems based on Augmented Reality technologies”, is revolutionizing the control of wireless systems by integrating an augmented reality interface (XR).

AR Technologies

ITAR

Reduce noise. Uncover risks. Control your threat exposure with ENTRYZERO&#039;s AI wingman.For organizations with an increasingly complex IT landscape and security teams operating at maximum capacity, ENTRYZERO provides an always-on AI wingman to scale workforce. It continuously monitors the attack surface, provides automated evidence of exploitability, and recommends prioritized remediations actions.ENTRYZERO supports building digital resilience with:- Proactive Risk Reduction: With 0 % false positives on vulnerabilities- Productivity boost: Scaled to the level of at least two full-time positions- Compliance with facts: For legal entities and supply chain under DORA and NIS2

Offensive Security

ENTRYZERO

Firmway is the Resilience Operating System for Europe’s Supply Chains: We see true resilience as a systemic approach - not just a checklist. By unifying fragmented tools into one platform, we deliver real ROI across the entire ecosystem. With Firmway, we want to connect suppliers and OEMs on one shared infrastructure to address the root causes of fragmented visibility and reactive risk management. Our goal is to create a secure ecosystem where all parties exchange information, capability and incident data in real time, thus establishing a common resilience baseline across the value chain.

Vulnerability Assessment

Firmway

The MPC platform developed by utilacy offers companies a simple, cost-effective and flexible solution for collaborative confidential computing. It allows data to be analyzed within the company, across company boundaries and even with competitors without exposing sensitive information. The utilacy platform enables companies to fully exploit the untapped potential of their confidential data. The platform encrypts the data to be analyzed directly on the data source (e.g. server or mobile device) and then distributes the data to multiple parties. What is special about this is that the source data never leaves the data source and therefore no party, including us as the operator of the utilacy platform, has access to this data.

utilacy

Edgeless Systems is a cybersecurity startup based in Bochum, Germany. Our confidential computing products elevate the security of your applications and workflows to unprecedented levels.We make always encrypted and verifiable processing of sensitive data scalable, thus enabling new and exciting forms of trustworthy data processing. With Edgeless Systems, your data and code are always protected — whether at rest or in use. Our company is built on the principles of open source and is a member of the Confidential Computing Consortium including Microsoft, Google, Red Hat, Intel and Huawei.

Kubernetes Security

Edgeless Systems

Apheris is an AI and data analytics product that enables organizations to develop and deploy data and AI algorithms across geographic and enterprise boundaries without compromising the privacy or intellectual property of the training data. Our federated infrastructure easily integrates with existing technology stacks, allowing existing code (e.g., models) to be trained on distributed data. As data privacy regulations continue to evolve and vary by geography, Apheris provides a compliant and secure solution for organizations to extract value from their data.Our customers can use Apheris to drive innovation and growth from their data assets in a secure and privacy-preserving manner.

Apheris

Zealience is a cybersecurity start-up based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, dedicated to helping IoT manufacturers ensure their devices meet European cybersecurity regulations. Our flagship product, Zealience Compliance Management Software (Z-CMS), automates the documentation process required to comply with the ETSI EN 303 645 standard, preparing manufacturers for EU regulations such as the UK Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure regime (UK PSTI), Radio Equipment Directive Delegated Regulation (RED DR), and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

IoT Security

Zealience

Code Intelligence provides an AI-powered software testing platform that enables developers to identify bugs and vulnerabilities that are inaccessible to traditional testing tools.By leveraging Code Intelligence, development teams can execute automated tests on every code change, ensuring the identification of quality and security issues well in advance of their entry into the codebase.

Code Intelligence GmbH

VIVAM develops digital, data protection-compliant solutions specifically for psychotherapists. The focus is on resource-optimized training of large language models in 6G networks for applications involving sensitive medical data. The VIVAM GUIDE application simplifies documentation in everyday practice and saves valuable time. The goal: to relieve therapists so they can focus on their patients.

VIVAM

TF-Industries specializes in the development of secure data storage solutions. With the growing threat of cyber-attacks and the need to be able to recover business critical data at any time, TF-Industries offers a solution: Safe Storage.Safe Storage is specialized hardware that uses a patented locking system to create a physical separation between the local network and the backup. Safe Storage provides not only data security, but also fast and reliable recovery options. Grey Rook supported TF Industries with the technical implementation of the software used.

Embedded Security

TF-Industries

Identeco protects accounts - no compromise.In 2020, Identeco GmbH &amp; Co. KG was founded at the University of Bonn. We safeguard millions of customer relationships and employee accounts from account takeover, without compromising your own security.With Identeco, you can assess your own infrastructure to determine the potential risks to customer or employee accounts. Try our services today and experience the efficiency and security they provide.

Web Security

identeco

Kausalytics makes the human factor in information security measurable: both the risk itself and the impact of your interventions, from trainings to campaigns and policies. This helps security teams find human-factor risks and reduce them efficiently. → Identify risk. See where people are most vulnerable → Measure impact. Understand which organizational interventions actually work → Reduce efficiently. Focus effort where it counts Our approach is grounded in peer-reviewed research published at leading security conferences, ACM CCS and IEEE S&amp;P.

Human Centered Security

Kausalytics

Emproof delivers high levels of security and IP integrity for embedded systems, using unique techniques that protect algorithms and data while securing the entire device. Our solution, Emproof Nyx, prevents reverse engineering, securing your valuable intellectual property and protecting against exploitation attacks.

emproof

The startup ai.dopt supports AI consultants in companies without their own AI developers in using artificial intelligence responsibly and exploiting the enormous potential of AI. AI consultants can be internal or external consultants.

Startup

ai.dopt

BINAMIC Security offers a solution that analyzes binary code independently of the underlying programming language, providing comprehensive protection across all platforms.

BINAMIC Security

Montsecure&#039;s mission is to eliminate the complexity of 5G mobile networks through research, training and software tools for customers. Through this approach, the startup wants to enable customers to take the design, construction and maintenance of a secure 5G mobile network into their own hands. The aim is to make mobile communication secure and accessible for everyone.

Montsecure

AWARE7 GmbH is an ISO27001 certified cybersecurity company based in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. We focus on awareness, pentesting and the development of management systems.We are committed to a broad understanding and increased use of IT security technologies in Germany and Europe. We rely on low-threshold entry formats such as live hacking and awareness shows to reach the majority of people.