SECURSTAR · SECURITY MADE IN GERMANY

Pioneers in encryption.
Since 1995.

Privacy drives us. Cryptography is our expertise. From early open-source solutions to protecting confidential business and government communications, we develop security that puts people in control.

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SecurStar portfolio: protection for storage, files, internet and telephony
Encryption. Communication. Consulting.Technology with a history.
Security for today.
1995ScramDisk & E4M · early projects
2001SecurStar founded
5.3 millionusers
Germany by choice

International minds.
A clear conviction.

Strong encryption.
Without deliberately built-in backdoors.

SecurStar’s founding brought together the development experience of ScramDisk (Shaun Hollingworth) and E4M (P. L. R.) with Wilfried Hafner’s security expertise and technical and entrepreneurial background. SecurStar was deliberately founded in Germany: the freedom to develop and use strong encryption was an important reason for this location decision.

In its 1999 cryptography policy principles, the German government opposed restrictions on the free availability of encryption products. This environment reflected our conviction that people and businesses should be able to protect their confidential data effectively themselves.

Our principle is clear: we do not build backdoors for government agencies or other third parties, and we do not deliberately weaken our encryption to enable outside access. Protecting your privacy is central to our technical decisions.

Historical background on German cryptography policy ↗
The people behind SecurStar

Expertise that goes deep.

When SecurStar was founded in 2001, the developers behind ScramDisk and E4M, leading open-source encryption solutions of the time, joined forces with security expert Wilfried Hafner and engineer and entrepreneur Pompeo Busnello. Its founders include Wilfried Hafner, Shaun Hollingworth and Pompeo Busnello. Their shared goal was to bring cryptographic expertise, practical security experience and entrepreneurial vision together in security solutions for everyday use.

Co-founder · Entrepreneur · Security Expert

Wilfried Hafner

An entrepreneur and security expert with a technical background in electronics and telecommunications. Wilfried Hafner has uncovered security vulnerabilities and publicly highlighted risks in IT and telecommunications security. This practical experience informs security analysis, consulting and the development of SecurStar solutions.

He has extensive experience of living and working in different countries and speaks six languages fluently: German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. In the media, he regularly explains security issues, digital risks and protective measures.

Co-founder · Cryptography & development

Shaun Hollingworth

A developer who thinks in bits: Shaun Hollingworth combines decades of programming experience with a deep understanding of encryption. From machine code and assembly to C++ and modern programming languages, his expertise reaches into the foundations of software.

His career took him from years of Z80 programming to video game development, including well-known football games, and later into the security industry. From 1995, he developed ScramDisk, one of the early freely available encryption solutions and an important part of SecurStar’s technical roots.

CryptographySoftware developmentTelecommunications securitySecurity analysis & consulting
Wilfried Hafner · Entrepreneur

Technical expertise.
Entrepreneurial achievement.

Wilfried Hafner has founded and built businesses in different countries. His entrepreneurial background includes Global Telecom in France, Capital Information Services in Hong Kong, CyProtect in Germany and co-founding SecurStar with Shaun Hollingworth and Pompeo Busnello.

France

Global Telecom

Hong Kong

Capital Information Services

Germany

CyProtect

Germany · international

SecurStar

Company development

From founding to international presence.

Hafner built SecurStar from the ground up and developed it into a security company with an international presence. In 2020, SecurStar had 75 employees. This development reflects experience in engineering, organisation and international business.

In memory

Pompeo Busnello

SecurStar co-founder · Entrepreneur · Fellow pioneer

Engineer and entrepreneur Pompeo Busnello was one of the founding fathers of SecurStar. Together with security expert Wilfried Hafner and the developers behind ScramDisk (Shaun Hollingworth) and E4M (P.L.R.), he contributed his experience to building the company. We remember his vision, commitment and personal contribution to our shared history.

As chairman of the then publicly listed TAS – Tecnologia Avanzata dei Sistemi – in Italy, and in a leadership role at TAS France, he combined technical understanding with international business experience. His career also included work at IBM and Olivetti and executive roles in the IT industry.

An engineer and visionary, he was active in several companies and at home across countries and cultures. He spoke Italian, English, French, Japanese and Spanish, with a basic knowledge of Portuguese. His distinctive perspective on technology and business opportunities brought valuable ideas and a unique personal touch to SecurStar.

We remember him with gratitude and respect.

International presence

Rooted in Germany.
Connected internationally.

SecurStar is represented in Germany, England, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Brazil. We combine German encryption expertise with international experience for individuals, businesses and public-sector clients.

Europe

DEGermany
ENGEngland
CHSwitzerland
CZCzech Republic

South America

BRBrazil
Our expertise

Engineering. Consulting.
Confidentiality.

From a single file to an organisation’s security architecture, we bring development, consulting and integration together.

01

Encryption with purpose.

We develop software and hardware to protect data and communications. Our portfolio spans encrypted containers and system drives, shared files, VPN connections and telephony.

02

Advice for demanding environments.

We advise companies and governments on information security. Our capabilities include security analysis, data and database encryption and security concepts tailored to specific requirements.

03

Integration with your infrastructure.

Security has to work in everyday operations. We connect central management, network environments and existing IP PBX systems with suitable SecurStar components, and support custom development projects.

International recognition

Award-winning security expertise.

SecurStar products have received international awards and been reviewed by the specialist press. Our company history includes several prestigious SC Magazine Awards.

SC MAGAZINE AWARD

Best Intellectual Property Protection

DriveCrypt Plus Pack

View winners ↗
VOLKSWAGEN FINANCIAL SERVICES · UK

Confidential data. Practical protection.

A reference for DriveCrypt on USB storage.

Original customer statement

Our company along with most other Financial Services companies have to ensure to the best of their ability that any data, which is remote from the company has to be secure and encrypted, we are no exception to this but what product to use? Having settled on a product for our laptops fixed disks we found that the same company did not provide the same level security for our USB memory sticks. After extensive research we decided that DriveCrypt would be the product of choice.

We found the following:

  • It was easy to setup and use.
  • It enabled us to choose from several “industry standard” encryption algorithms.
  • It gave us the ability to transport the executable file from PC to PC.
  • When a USB stick is inserted into a USB port a pop up is displayed requesting a password before access is allowed.
  • The encryption file was not easily removed.
  • It was a stable product with several hidden features which added to the level of security.

We are very happy with the level of service we have received from SecurStar although we are not in the same country.

In general DriveCrypt has proved to be a reliable product that some of our non IT-literate customers found extremely easy to use.

Yours Sincerely,
David Hawkins
IT Support Manager
Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Ltd.

Reviews & coverage

Reviewed by the specialist press.

Media coverage of SecurStar and our products includes SC Magazine, PC-Welt, PC direkt, PCtipp, PC Professional and Focus. The book Microsoft Inside Out is also part of our publication references. DriveCrypt Plus Pack also received an editorial recommendation from SC Magazine.

Expand press coverage

From SecurStar’s press archive: SC Magazine product reviews and reporting, plus coverage in PC-Welt, PC direkt, PCtipp, PC Professional and Focus. These publications form part of our press history; their inclusion does not imply endorsement of every product.

Press & materials →
View more award and publication logos

Excellence seals, software ratings and publication references from our archive. They include PC direkt, PCtipp, PC-Welt and the book reference Microsoft Inside Out. The original artwork is hosted here on the new website.

Original Excellence seals, software ratings and logos of Microsoft, PC direkt, PCtipp, PC-Welt and other publications

Microsoft: book reference Microsoft Inside Out. The collection includes different awards, ratings and mentions.

Trust across business and the public sector

References that speak for themselves.

Our references include international companies and public institutions. They are grouped below by sector: justice and law enforcement, public institutions and defence, industry and automotive, banking and financial services, technology and software, and energy and telecommunications.

Justice & law enforcement

STF · Supremo Tribunal FederalFederal Supreme Court · Brazil
New Scotland YardEngland

Public institutions & defence

FAAFederal Aviation Administration · USA
Ministry of DefenceSingapore

Industry & automotive

FiatAutomotive industry
VolkswagenAutomotive industry
VolvoAutomotive industry

Banking & financial services

CitibankBanking
PrudentialFinancial services
PwCPricewaterhouseCoopers
Volkswagen Financial ServicesUnited Kingdom

Technology & software

Texas InstrumentsSemiconductors & electronics
MotorolaCommunications technology
Opera SoftwareSoftware development

Energy & telecommunications

ExxonEnergy industry
AT&TTelecommunications
Our milestones

An early start.
A continuing commitment.

From encrypted drives to secure telephony, our milestones show how we have put new technologies to work protecting privacy in everyday use.

1995

The roots of our pioneering work

Our work on encryption begins long before digital privacy becomes an everyday concern. Early open-source projects such as ScramDisk and E4M shape the development history that later leads to DriveCrypt.

2001

SecurStar and DriveCrypt

The developers behind ScramDisk and E4M, leading open-source solutions of the time, join forces with security expert Wilfried Hafner and engineer Pompeo Busnello to establish SecurStar. DriveCrypt brings together the development paths of both projects: powerful encryption for drives and containers, made accessible for everyday use.

2001

First office in England

SecurStar opens an office in England in its founding year, making international collaboration part of the company’s development from the outset.

2002

DriveCrypt Plus Pack: protection before Windows starts

DriveCrypt Plus Pack is announced. Encryption includes the operating system, with authentication before Windows starts, making comprehensive disk protection practical for individual users.

2002

Office opens in Romania

An office in Romania expands SecurStar’s European presence, taking the company beyond its first locations.

2006

Enterprise Edition: managing encryption centrally

Enterprise Edition 1.1 connects disk encryption with a management console. Administrators can manage users and computers centrally and roll out encryption across a company, extending protection from individual machines to managed infrastructure.

2006

SecurWall and SecurMailGate: protection beyond the disk

By 2006, both solutions are part of the portfolio. SecurWall protects network access as a desktop firewall. SecurMailGate brings email encryption to the gateway, integrating S/MIME and PGP into business communications.

2006

PhoneCrypt Professional: confidential calls on a smartphone

At Systems, SecurStar introduces PhoneCrypt for Windows Mobile smartphones. Voice encryption becomes a software solution on the mobile phone, taking confidential conversations beyond the office desk.

2006

ShareCrypt: sharing work, protecting files

ShareCrypt is introduced: multiple authorised users can work in encrypted network folders simultaneously. Teams can protect shared files without replacing their existing file server with a specialised system.

2006

Office opens in Ukraine

A further office in Ukraine adds to the international organisation as the company expands its security portfolio.

2007

SurfSolo: privacy on the internet

SecurSurf becomes SurfSolo. The service extends local data protection to protected internet connections and shielding the user’s IP address, bringing privacy to online activity.

2007

PositionTracer: the mobile phone as a safety companion

PositionTracer is announced for Systems. GPS location, location history and an emergency message with position information connect mobile technology with personal safety for people who want to remain reachable and locatable on the move.

2007

Office opens in Brazil

Opening an office in Brazil establishes SecurStar’s presence in South America, extending the company’s reach beyond its European roots.

2008

PhoneCrypt Prestige: voice encryption in hardware

PhoneCrypt Prestige is introduced. The hardware solution encrypts the voice channel and extends secure telephony across different phone environments, from mobile phones to landlines.

2008

Office opens in the United States

SecurStar opens an office in the United States, adding North America to its international company history.

2009

PhoneCrypt Gateway: secure telephony for PBX systems

PhoneCrypt expands to IP-capable telephone systems. The gateway connects PhoneCrypt solutions with existing PBX environments, bringing encrypted telephony into established business networks.

2009

PhoneCrypt for iPhone

An iPhone version extends SecurStar’s encrypted mobile telephony to another smartphone platform.

2011

Second office in England: Sheffield

SecurStar opens a second UK office in Sheffield, expanding its British presence.

2012

PhoneCrypt Universal: reaching regular phone numbers

PhoneCrypt Universal is introduced. The user’s connection communicates with the PhoneCrypt infrastructure over an encrypted link, while contacts can be reached on regular phone numbers without a PhoneCrypt device at the other end.

2015

PhoneCrypt VoiCe: encrypted voice calls without internet

PhoneCrypt VoiCe encrypts conversations directly over the voice channel and works without an internet connection. Bluetooth-connected hardware handles encryption, offering a distinct approach to confidential mobile calls.

2020

75 employees: international experience at scale

In 2020, SecurStar has 75 employees, marking a milestone in the company’s growth and international experience.

2022

Windows 11 compatibility across all Windows products

In 2022, all SecurStar Windows products become compatible with Windows 11, bringing the portfolio to the new generation of Windows, from protecting confidential files and entire systems to secure communications.

2024

Office opens in Switzerland

SecurStar opens an office in Switzerland, expanding its international presence and adding another chapter to the company’s European history.

2026

Launch of FYNTRA Key and Wallet

FYNTRA launches in 2026 with Key and Wallet. FYNTRA Key organises keys; FYNTRA Wallet combines card organisation with RFID protection. Finding features help locate misplaced belongings, extending SecurStar’s portfolio into everyday life.

Today

5.3 million users. Connected internationally.

SecurStar is represented in Germany, England, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Brazil. From its early work in data encryption, the company has developed a product family for drives, shared files, internet access and confidential telephony.

Our commitment

Strong security.
Made accessible.

Encryption should protect your work and remain practical to use. Our products connect technical capabilities with clear workflows: unlock and lock selected data areas, manage computers centrally and integrate confidential communications into existing environments.

Our roots in ScramDisk and E4M continue to shape that commitment. Privacy is the reason we develop these technologies.

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