Startup Interview with Tracie Thompson, HackHunter CEO

HackHunter Pursuit WiFi trackers (L) 2.4GHz and (R) combined 2.4GHz/5GHz

HackerNoon Reporter: Please tell us briefly about your background.

I’ve been a security consultant and COO/part-owner of a security consulting and software company and now I’m CEO of HackHunter, a deep tech startup that locates WiFi with precision. I’ve led HackHunter through three accelerator programs in Australia (Startmate, CyRise and SBE Australia) and I’m responsible for commercialising the technology.

What's your startup called? And in a sentence or two, what does it do?

We’re HackHunter and we locate WiFi sources with precision (to within a few inches/centimetres). We’ve developed the Pursuit hand-held tracker which detects WiFi and accurately tracks down the source in real-time. HackHunter analyses WiFi packets at the protocol level and applies templates to detect and analyse malicious WiFi, drones, devices etc. in real time and locate the source with precision.

What is the origin story?

When we sold our previous business my co-founder, Mike, and I wanted to combine our security expertise with his interest in IoT and sensors. We already knew that WiFi is really hard to find from doing vulnerability assessments, and then Mike found an online discussion about how a security professional was sure his neighbour was hacking his WiFi but he had no way of proving it. Mike decided to see if he could detect malicious WiFi, and HackHunter was born.

What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem?

I love the way that our team works so well together and how much they enjoy it! Mike and Mair (our tech lead) just love micro-controllers and what they can do with them, and they are fantastic mentors for Sam, our junior software engineer, who is a really smart, fast learner. And Alaine’s UX design has made the tracker look so cool as well as being easy to use. Our technical expertise coupled with our security knowledge means we can develop usable products that do what they say on the box – locate WiFi sources (and soon cell and Bluetooth!) with precision.

If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing?

Building the next one – I’m really interested in deep tech, space tech, IoT/sensors, cyber security, renewable energy and helping solve climate change, so there’s probably something in there I can work on!

At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your core metrics?

We launched our 2.4GHz WiFi Pursuit tracker at the end of 2020 and we’re launching the combined 2.4GHz/5GHz Pursuit in September 2021. Success for us is getting people to use the Pursuit, see how great it is and then buy it! Our core metrics are number of demos, trials, customers and products sold.

What’s most exciting about your traction to date?

The momentum that’s building and the fact that customers are coming to us! In the past six months we’ve gained our first customers –in Australia and Canada – and in the past week alone we’ve spoken to people in Australia, the USA, Middle East and the EU who have either been introduced to us or found us online. We’ve provided quotes for bulk purchases in Egypt and the USA, started trials with two government departments and a national law enforcement agency and we are in discussions with eight resellers in Australia, Asia and the EU with customers in government, law enforcement, defence, telcos and finance. The demand for the combined 2.4GHz/5GHz Pursuit tracker is building so we’re excited to see what happens when it hits the market in September.

What technologies are you currently most excited about, and most worried about? And why?

I’m very excited about sensors and what they can do. It’s quite amazing to see how they can be used to collect data and then what you can do with that data, like traffic pattern analysis, or machinery and environmental monitoring. They have uses everywhere.

I’m also really worried about sensors and how easily they can be hacked and turned against their users e.g. hacking a casino through its fish tank and the hack on the water treatment plant in Florida. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

What drew you to get published on HackerNoon? What do you like most about our platform?

Hacker Noon is a really interesting read, you can find articles about anything, from gaming to blockchain to cybersecurity. It’s awesome that the community contributes their knowledge and everyone can be heard.

What advice would you give to the 21-year-old version of yourself?

Get out of your own way – the only limits are the ones you put there yourself. You can do anything if you put your mind to it and put the effort in.

What is something surprising you've learned this year that your contemporaries would benefit from knowing?

Social media marketing DOES work for cyber security products!

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