What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about hackers? If you think most hackers are school dropouts and work from dark, dingy garages with half-eaten pizza slices at their workstations, you are probably right.  But, thanks to the hackers, they are the reason why we even have progress in software. Had it not been for hackers we would not have online stores and web applications. The people who invade other people's privacy and exploit security holes in systems are crackers - they are the dark form of hackers. 

also read: 'That was Whistle Todu' Virender Sehwag lauds MS dhoni's knock against RR

However, we are talking about a school dropout, who decided to embrace ethical hacking and begins his journey to save the film industry from bad actors. Meet Manan Shah, a 25-year-old founder and CEO of Mumbai-based Avalance Global Solutions whose Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based anti-piracy solutions have saved millions for producers of films like "Aiyaary", "Gujjubhai Most Wanted", "Helicopter Eela", "LoveYatri", "Namastey England" and "The Accidental Prime Minister', among others. Established in 2016, Avalance has a branch in New Jersey in the US.

He said that he has a proven track record of reaching more than 95 percent of the infringed content on the online space. "Our clientele includes 95 percent of Bollywood production houses, television channels, streaming apps like Netflix, South American production houses and European producers and distribution companies across the globe," Shah said.

Shah and his team have developed AI-based solutions to control the online piracy of movies on Google-owned YouTube and various other online platforms. The company offers Anti-Piracy as a Service (APaaS) and Anti-Counterfeiting as a Service (AcaaS) solutions. "Our systems can search for and detect torrents, streaming media as well as downloadable content alike,’ he said. The young entrepreneur who in 2009 attended a seminar in Vadodara on ethical hacking and firmed up his mind to become an ethical hacker, now wants to do more - strengthen India's cybersecurity.

also read: Salman Khan's dabangg 3 goes on floors today