Computer science majors Sarah Leonetti ’24 and Nicole Perugini '24 were assigned a class project to develop a business idea they could bring to market. The idea the group selected evolved into what the team will pitch as Golden Guardian Solutions (GGS) on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at the Fairfield StartUp Showcase. GGS is a web app dedicated to providing family members who could be targets of cyber fraud with peace of mind through data traffic analysis. Leonetti proposed the idea based on her family’s unfortunate experience when her grandmother lost 95 percent of her life savings and investments.

“Through GGS, my goal is to prevent similar experiences from happening to other families,” said Leonetti, who is the group’s team leader. GGS uses an artificial intelligence-driven authentication system to monitor the customer’s online interactions and detect unknown traffic. In this scenario, GGS will also alert the customer’s emergency contact, likely a family member, and work in partnership with the customer and emergency contact to help assess the situation.

“There is no silver bullet for cybersecurity, which is why we provide users with even more solutions,” Leonetti explained. “GGS aims to simplify the mature user’s online experience. We provide seniors with a safe online community to share their personal stories surrounding fraud, and connect them with others while shifting them away from common social media scams. Coupled with our educational and local resources for both the emergency contact and mature user, we can truly provide families proactive peace of mind that their loved ones are safe from internet fraud.”

Class of 2024 team members Ian Austin, John Holt, and Nicholas Brunetti, and Andrew Samarro ’23 will join Leonetti and Perugini on stage at the April 18 Showcase at the Quick Center.

To learn more about the Fairfield StartUp Showcase and to register, visit fairfield.edu/startup.