In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Ari Andersen, SIS/BA ’13, and Eftychis Gregos-Mourginakis, SIS/BA ’11, became increasingly alarmed by the proliferation of misinformation across social media.

The two friends, who met during their college days at AU, questioned how social media users could distinguish what was real from what was fake online. They reflected on lessons learned from cybersecurity classes taken with Professor Emeritus Eric Novotny during their time at SIS, in which they learned about the threats of misinformation and bot-created content.

These conversations led to a key question: what if trust could serve as a security layer?

Enter Kibu. Through a collaboration born from relationships built at SIS, Andersen, Gregos-Mourginakis, and Novotny recently launched a new app that uses biometric authentication and consensus-based authorization to create secure, encrypted communication spaces.

Building Lasting Relationships at SIS

Andersen and Gregos-Mourginakis first met Professor Novotny in cybersecurity classes at SIS. Novotny quickly became a favorite professor of both Andersen and Gregos-Mourginakis, and the three continued to keep in touch outside the walls of SIS.

“I fondly remember both Ari and Efty in my classes,” Novotny said. “That was in the early days of the cybersecurity program at AU, where it was sometimes difficult to find students who were interested in the subject. Ari and Efty are examples of how you can succeed with degrees from American in that respect.”

After graduating, Andersen and Gregos-Mourginakis kept in touch with Novotny through phone conversations and occasional meetups in DC, deepening a friendship with their professor that would ultimately turn into a business partnership.

“There are a lot of awesome things about going to American in terms of personal relationships, but one of the highlights was definitely the relationship with Eric,” Gregos-Mourginakis said.

Creating Kibu

Novotny, Gregos-Mourginakis, and Andersen began working together to develop Kibu in 2022. Seeing the rise of artificial intelligence and its threat to cybersecurity, the trio sought to develop a platform that could combat deepfakes and create a truly secure communication space online.

“We believe so fundamentally that this technology needs to exist,” Andresen said. “It is really that mission that has been the throughline of this project. We really believe that there needs to be a little corner of the internet where you know who’s real, what’s real, and who can be trusted.”

In action, Kibu users can create “pods” that function as encrypted chatrooms. Kibu offers an advanced security layer for its pods by utilizing biometric authentication and requiring individuals in the chat to approve new users invited to join the chat. The platform is also end-to-end encrypted, and if a user’s biometric information is changed on their device, their information on Kibu is automatically wiped for additional security.

“When using Kibu, you invite people into these encrypted spaces, and then you’re relying on a group forum to determine whether someone can come in or not,” Andersen explained. “We don’t require passwords, usernames, or emails; it’s just your device biometrics plus the trust of the people you know…It’s sort of like a castle with a moat and a drawbridge—you can’t get in unless I put down the drawbridge and invite you into the space.”

The first version of Kibu was launched in 2023, and the product appeared in app stores at the end of 2024. Because of the high level of encryption and security in the app, “keeping [Kibu] in the hands of people that are doing legitimate business” is very important to the company, Andersen explained. While anyone can download Kibu from the app store, clients must purchase an administrative license to create a pod in the app.

Last summer, the company signed its first client—a global risk advisory firm—and hopes to continue to expand its product to additional clients in government and financial organizations soon.

Advice for SIS Students

While the four years spent pursuing an undergraduate degree can pass quickly, they provide an opportunity to build friendships and connections that last a lifetime. Andersen and Gregos-Mourginakis know this well.

“The one piece of advice I would give is to engage with your professors outside of the classroom because it will pay dividends,” Gregos-Mourginakis said. “Teachers love teaching; they love mentoring. It will open doors for you in some ways you can’t predict. As an undergraduate, you have the ability to interact with your professors as peers…and that might turn into an internship, it might turn into a job one day, it might turn into an investor, it might turn into a business partner. Don’t miss those opportunities.”