U.S. tech company focused on ‘trust verification’ expanding to Hamilton

A New York City-based tech company specializing in online proctoring software and trust verification" will soon call Hamilton its second home as it expands into Canada.

Verificient Technologies Inc. made the announcement Tuesday at the Collision tech conference hosted in Toronto.

Speaking to The Spectator, CEO and co-founder Rajnish Kumar said the company currently offers two different kinds of software - Proctortrack and RemoteDesk - which use artificial intelligence and identity validation technologies to ensure the integrity" of virtual learning and remote work.

At our core, we're into trust verification," he said. You want to make sure that trust is in place."

Kumar said the company decided to grow across the border due to because an increasing number of Canadian clients.

Their program, Proctortrack, is being used by several Canadian post-secondary institutions, including Queen's University, Humber College and Centennial College.

The software monitors students to prevent cheating while they complete exams at home using their own computers.

Kumar said having a Canadian office will give the company access to local innovation as well as improve their ability to follow privacy laws with a better understanding."

That area of expertise became a hot-topic issue at Western University in October 2020 after Proctortrack experienced a security breach on a company server. Vereficient suspended its service to the school for seven days to review the incident.

Kumar said in the wake of the breach, they hired a third-party security firm to recommend what kind of remediations" were needed for the software. Those included additional controls as well as increased data transparency" for students.

They can now see what data we collect, where we store it, who has access to that data and when it will be deleted," he said.

Kumar noted that the company specifically chose Hamilton due to its proximity to the border as well as the access to future talent," while describing the city as a centre of innovation."

In a statement, City of Hamilton director of economic development Norm Schleehahn said the city is excited" to welcome the company and that their expansion move to the city raises our profile in the tech investment community."

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com