When networks fail, Livedrop still makes data move

In a world obsessed with connectivity, Martijn Antzoulatos-Borgstein delivered a counterintuitive message. Standing on stage at Blue Magic Netherlands, the Senior Sales Director for Defense & Security at Eindhoven-based LiveDrop argued that the most secure form of communication may be the one that doesn’t use a network at all.

“No radio. No connectivity. No infrastructure,” he said. “And still secure.”

It sounded almost paradoxical. Yet over the next twenty minutes, Antzoulatos-Borgstein explained how LiveDrop has built a data-transfer technology specifically for environments where connectivity is unreliable, dangerous, or simply impossible, from battlefields and disaster zones to intelligence operations and critical infrastructure.

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From hospitals to hostile environments

LiveDrop, last year's winner of a Gerard & Anton Award, did not start as a defense company. The technology was initially developed for healthcare, where strict privacy rules and GDPR compliance required secure data exchange without exposing data to networks.

But as digital threats increased, the company’s solution began attracting attention from a very different audience. “We started as a dual-use company,” Antzoulatos-Borgstein explained. “But we were quickly pulled into defense and security. The problem we solve there is even more urgent.”

Modern military operations depend on data, yet traditional communication methods have become increasingly vulnerable. Radio signals can be intercepted. Networks can be jammed. Satellites can be disrupted. In contested environments, connectivity itself becomes a risk. “That’s the paradox,” he said. “The more digital we become, the more fragile our communication layer gets.”

Martijn Antzoulatos-Borgstein, Senior Sales Director for Defense & Security at Eindhoven-based LiveDrop, at Blue Magic Netherlands © Nadia ten Wolde

Communicating without emitting a signal

LiveDrop’s answer is deceptively simple in concept and highly complex in execution: transferring encrypted data using optical signals instead of radio waves. The system enables data exchange between devices without requiring an RF connection, network access, or a physical link. Information is transmitted visually - from screen to camera, device to device - using encrypted optical patterns.

“It’s fully offline,” Antzoulatos-Borgstein said. “There is nothing to intercept, nothing to jam, nothing to spoof.”

Because the transmission is unidirectional and optical, it adheres to military-grade low-probability-of-intercept (LPI) and low-probability-of-detection (LPD) principles. In practice, this means communication can take place even in environments where radio silence is mandatory or electronic warfare is active.

LiveDrop’s system works across multiple distances and scenarios:

• Short range: device-to-device exchange
• Mid-range: optical transfer using telescopic lenses
• Long range: line-of-sight communication
• Mobile scenarios: including drones and moving platforms

“We can exchange data between soldiers, vehicles, command posts, or even drones - without using a network,” Antzoulatos-Borgstein said.

Built for the field, not the lab

What sets LiveDrop apart is its practical orientation. The technology runs on standard hardware, works across operating systems, and integrates with existing military and security platforms.

It can replace USB sticks - still widely used but notoriously insecure - and act as a secure interoperability layer between systems that generally cannot communicate. “We’re not building something theoretical,” he emphasized. “This is field-ready technology.”

Current transfer speeds exceed two megabits per second, sufficient for maps, imagery, mission data, and orders. The system is low-power, lightweight, and designed to work under harsh conditions. In tests, LiveDrop demonstrated successful data transfer over distances exceeding a kilometer using commercial optical equipment. Under the right conditions, even longer distances are possible.

A growing role in defense and security

LiveDrop now works with government organizations, defense forces and security agencies across multiple countries. While details remain confidential, Antzoulatos-Borgstein made clear that interest is growing rapidly. “All our current users operate in data-sensitive environments,” he said. “Think defense, intelligence, law enforcement.”

The company’s roadmap reflects that momentum: For the short term, it's about becoming a preferred secure data-transfer protocol for edge operations. In the midterm, the objective is broader adoption across the defense and security ecosystems. In the long term, LiveDrop aims to deliver a NATO-level interoperability standard. It is an ambitious trajectory, but one that aligns with a broader shift in military thinking: resilience over connectivity, autonomy over dependence.

Beyond connectivity

One of the most striking moments came during the Q&A, when Antzoulatos-Borgstein was asked about ground-to-space communication. “We don’t build technology because it’s cool,” he said. “We build what users actually need. If the use case comes, we’ll solve it. Until then, we focus on what works today.”

That pragmatism may be LiveDrop’s greatest strength. At a time when defense innovation is often dominated by buzzwords - AI, autonomy, swarming - LiveDrop focuses on something far more fundamental: ensuring that critical information gets through, even when everything else fails. “When networks go down, operations don’t stop. That’s where we come in.”

At Blue Magic Netherlands, LiveDrop offered a quiet but powerful reminder: in tomorrow’s conflicts, the most valuable connection may be the one that doesn’t look like a connection at all.