Data is safest when it cannot be accessed. This was demonstrated, among other things, by the cyberattack on the world's largest container shipping company in 2016. The data could only be recovered because a single server was disconnected from the network due to a power outage and could not be encrypted by the hackers. Fabian Gieshoff, Uli Vinkelau, Tobias Bümmerstede and Daniel Grund applied this insight into security through physical separation to the digital infrastructure of companies. With TF-Industries and their patented ‘Safe Storage’ technology, they are pursuing a simple yet ingenious approach to combating cyber attacks: a physically automated air gap system that reliably separates backups from the local network. The founding team was awarded first place at the WORLDFACTORY Demo Day 2025 for this achievement.
What is the idea behind your start-up TF-Industries?
Fabian Gieshoff: Every day, companies are attacked by cybercriminals, for example via ransomware that encrypts data. Companies understand the seriousness of these attacks, but the topic of cybersecurity is often too complex. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular have neither the financial resources nor the expertise to protect themselves adequately against attacks. At the same time, the European Union's Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) obliges companies to implement comprehensive compliance measures. With TF-Industries, we want to make IT security simple and understandable for everyone – for IT experts and financial decision-makers alike. We have recognised that preventive measures such as antivirus software help, but only a secure backup can completely save data.Uli Vinkelau: 70 percent of all cyber attacks encrypt the backup, and downtime of 23 days often means the end for medium-sized businesses. All previous solutions on the market are software-based and therefore vulnerable to attack.
Our customers and IT partners are amazed by the simplicity of our solution, and as things stand, it is rock solid.
What is your backup strategy?
Fabian Gieshoff: Currently, companies' backup systems, i.e. their data storage, are connected to a local network at all times. All data that is backed up goes directly to a physically accessible storage location, a cloud. At home, people back up their data physically separately on a USB stick or hard drive. Until now, companies have not had an automated process for separating data storage and the network. With TF-Industries, we have developed a lock that automatically separates an unsecure network from a secure network, because even super AI cannot hack a physically separated system.
How does this automated separation of secure and insecure networks work?
Fabian Gieshoff: We use our patented lock procedure called Safe Storage. This is a server that sits between the storage destination and the company network and only allows data to pass in one direction.
You can imagine it like a lock between the sea and a harbour. We automate this principle. We have also integrated standard backup recovery software into the data storage device so that our product can be seamlessly integrated into existing networks.
Mr Gieshoff, you were studying for your bachelor's degree when you had the idea for TF-Industries. What was your first step towards starting a start-up?
Fabian Gieshoff: I knew early on that I wanted to be self-employed at some point. During my studies, I exchanged ideas with professors, including Prof. Dr. Tobias Glasmachers from the Institute for Neuroinformatics and Prof. Dr. Christof Paar from the field of cryptography. The latter eventually referred me to the Cube 5 incubator.
What has been the biggest challenge for your start-up so far?
Uli Vinkelau: I think the biggest challenge is that you are rightly convinced of your idea, but you don't properly cover the customer's needs. In our first year, we learned the important lesson that our product has to fit into the infrastructure of medium-sized companies.
We mastered this challenge by regularly gathering customer feedback and holding strategy meetings.
How is Ruhr University Bochum supporting you in your start-up project?
Fabian Gieshoff: Ruhr University Bochum has supported us every step of the way, from the initial idea through development to where we are now. I presented my sluice technology at the Cube 5 incubator. We received further support in the second batch of the inCUBE programme and through the Proof-It funding from WORLDFACTORY. We were also able to raise almost €760,000 through the StartUpSecure programme of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
What does the award for the most promising start-up at Ruhr University Bochum 2025 mean to you?
Uli Vinkelau: It's great recognition from the experts on the jury, of course. Their comments have given us some helpful ideas for improvements. Ultimately, however, what counts for us is the hard currency of customer revenue.
What are your goals for the next few years?
Fabian Gieshoff: We want to transfer the successful principle behind Apple to IT security. This means designing complex technologies so that anyone can use them intuitively and creating a unified ecosystem in which everything works together seamlessly. Our vision is NIS2 compliance via a one-click solution.
Uli Vinkelau: To explain, NIS2 is a new EU regulation that requires companies to significantly improve their IT security measures. In future, companies will have to prove that they have done everything possible to protect themselves against cyber attacks.
Do you have any advice for people thinking about starting a business?
Fabian Gieshoff: I think the most important thing is to always get back up when you fall down. You have to be able to handle pressure, and the team is also very important. As a founder, you have to think at the management level, where strategy, mission and vision are pursued. Instead, we sometimes got too caught up in operational details.
Uli Vinkelau: In the daily grind, it's easy to get bogged down and have endless discussions about details. That doesn't get you anywhere. It's important to keep your goal clearly in mind and consistently take the necessary steps to achieve it. I've learned to really appreciate the American attitude that failure is not a disgrace, but a learning experience.
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