Every second Tuesday of February marks Safer Internet Day, a global initiative coordinated by the Insafe/INHOPE network and supported by the European Commission. Beyond the date itself, it highlights an increasingly clear reality: cybersecurity has moved beyond being a purely technical concern to become a structural factor of economic competitiveness.
Today, protecting digital environments is no longer just about regulatory compliance or risk mitigation. It is a strategic decision that directly impacts the ability of the tech sector to scale, attract investment, build trust and compete in increasingly demanding markets. Within the Valencian tech sector, startups specialising in cybersecurity are proving that innovation and protection are not only compatible, but inseparable.
New digital risks in an increasingly complex technological environment
The acceleration of digitalisation is significantly expanding the attack surface for companies, institutions and users. Digital identity management, the evolution towards Web3 models, the growth of the Internet of Things and the consolidation of remote work are redefining the risk landscape faced by the tech sector.
Francisco Carriedo, CEO of MessengerSell, points out that in the coming years “everything related to identity theft and new threats linked to Web 3.0 will be among the main challenges”. Added to this is the advance of technologies capable of generating increasingly sophisticated synthetic content. For Fran Villalba, founder and CEO of Internxt, “deepfakes and content generation through artificial intelligence are creating new forms of social engineering that make verifying the authenticity of information more difficult”.
These risks do not affect all segments of the sector equally, but none are immune. In highly digitised fields such as hospitality, with intensive use of cloud platforms, APIs and personal data, exposure to attacks increases and makes it necessary to integrate digital security as a core component of the business model.
Security by design: when security becomes a competitive advantage
In response to this context, the most advanced technology companies have moved away from reactive approaches. Cybersecurity is no longer added at the end of development, but integrated from the product design stage.
At Scanify, as explained by its CEO Ahmed Sherif, “cybersecurity is part of the product design from the very beginning”. By applying security by design and privacy by design principles, the company ensures that every digital interaction, from scanning a QR code to confirming an order, is carried out securely without compromising the user experience.
This philosophy is shared by Internxt, which has built its value proposition on an end-to-end encryption and zero-knowledge model. “Each file is encrypted in such a way that not even our servers can access the content,” notes Villalba, reinforcing the idea that user protection should not depend on complex configurations or later decisions.
This approach not only reduces risk, but also improves operational efficiency and strengthens market trust. In an increasingly competitive tech sector, integrating security by design has become a key differentiator.
Better protection without adding friction to the business
The proliferation of cybersecurity solutions has raised the technological baseline of the market, but it has also increased complexity. Today, true differentiation lies not in adding more technical layers, but in protecting better without penalising operations or the user experience.
Scanify has made this principle one of its main differentiators, focusing on encrypted communications and strict access controls that do not interfere with the day-to-day operations of restaurants and customers. Along the same lines, Internxt combines total privacy with usability to compete directly with major global technology platforms.
At MessengerSell, the focus is on democratising advanced technologies. “We have managed to make a level of security affordable that was previously only available to banks or large corporations,” explains Carriedo. Its solution acts directly on one of today’s main attack surfaces, the web layer, significantly reducing threats such as cross-site scripting or click-hijacking.
Beyond incident prevention, these solutions strengthen the resilience of the tech ecosystem, allowing companies to anticipate attacks, respond more quickly and minimise economic and reputational impact.
Artificial intelligence and cryptography: power, context and limits
Artificial intelligence and advanced cryptography are playing an increasingly important role in protecting digital environments. When properly applied, they enable anomaly detection, automated responses and improved system reliability.
However, there are no miracle solutions. In the words of Lucas Gasaro, co-founder of CyVerse Consulting, “technology only delivers value when there is a solid foundation of governance, asset inventory and risk management”. Before talking about tools, it is essential to understand what needs to be protected, why and in what order.
This pragmatic approach is key to avoiding a false sense of security and building strategies aligned with business objectives and sustainable over time.
The Valencian tech sector as a strategic asset
The environment in which these startups are born and grow directly influences how they approach cybersecurity. The Valencian tech sector is characterised by its proximity to the business fabric, its collaborative capacity and its focus on solutions applicable to real-world contexts.
For Ahmed Sherif, being part of this ecosystem has meant “growing in a collaborative environment, with access to talent, partners and a business fabric committed to secure digital innovation”. Lucas Gasaro highlights that working closely with SMEs and industry “forces you to be practical and avoid purely theoretical discourse”, while Fran Villalba underlines that this network of talent, R&D centres and cooperation “accelerates the development of security solutions and strengthens the competitiveness of the region”.
This combination of applied innovation, market proximity and strategic vision makes the Valencian tech sector particularly well positioned to compete in the European digital economy.
Cybersecurity, trust and sustainable growth
Positioning cybersecurity as a strategic pillar does more than protect systems and data. It builds trust, reinforces competitiveness and enables sustainable growth across the tech sector.
From Valencia, startups specialising in digital security are demonstrating that it is possible to anticipate global risks and deliver agile, ethical and effective responses. They are not only developing cutting-edge technology; they are actively contributing to the consolidation of a stronger, more competitive and future-ready tech sector.
