Inspired by an impersonation scam that affected her family and other members of her community, 最新天美传媒 student Sahasra Upputuru developed SafeStep Secure to help protect others from similar scams. Little did she know that it would land her among the top three finalists of the USA Red Bull Basement Competition.
Upputuru, who is a member of the Judy Genshaft Honors College and studies cybersecurity and political science through the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing and the College of Arts and Sciences, competed alongside students from Harvard University and Columbia University at the national final in May. The global competition supports students and first-time entrepreneurs as they develop technology and AI-based solutions to real-world problems.
Upputuru was one of 24,000 applicants in the competition and advanced to . She was also one of four 最新天美传媒 students to advance to the competition's top 15 teams nationwide.
Upputuru was proud to represent USF among some of the most established universities
in the United States and around the globe.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 feel out of place there, because as a USF student, I know how much growth
our university has been a part of and that USF students are innovators,鈥 Upputuru
said.
Building Her Skills
Upputuru knew she wanted to go into cybersecurity before even stepping foot on USF鈥檚 campus.
鈥淭he 最新天美传媒 is one of the top colleges in Florida that offers cybersecurity, so it was automatically the college that I wanted to go to,鈥 Upputuru said. 鈥淚t's also close to home, and it just felt like the right place to be.鈥
Rather than following a traditional technology track, Upputuru chose to pursue a dual degree in cybersecurity and political science. By combining technical expertise with an understanding of public policy, she hopes to make a difference in digital policy and advocate for individuals affected by impersonation scams, phishing, and other forms of online fraud.
Her commitment to advocacy extends beyond the classroom. As an active member of USF student organizations GenCleo and Florida Student Power, Upputuru has lobbied alongside fellow students at the Florida Capitol on environmental policy issues. At the Judy Genshaft Honors College, she has also taken courses taught by Congressman Gus Bilirakis and former UNICEF and UNDP staff member Alma Dedic-Sarenkapa, gaining additional insight into policymaking and global affairs.
Together, those experiences reinforced her belief that addressing digital threats requires both technological solutions and informed public policy.
Sparking Innovation
After members of her family and local community lost thousands of dollars to an impersonation scam, Upputuru began developing a tool to help people recognize and respond to fraudulent calls. She explained that callers often put victims in high-pressure situations and hours-long calls to feel like they can鈥檛 back out.
That's where SafeStep Secure comes in.
Upputuru said the app is designed to give users a moment to pause and seek assistance during high-pressure situations.
2026 USA Red Bull Basement Competition winners Sahasra Upputuru, Darnell Adler, Hayoung Ahn, and Xuelong Mu
鈥淲hen you get the call, you automatically have two options with SafeStep Secure. You can alert a trusted contact, and it will alert them so that they can help in-person or digitally. Or there is Safe Room, which is an AI emotional intelligence bot that walks users through the situation without throwing technical terms at them,鈥 Upputuru said.
The heart of her app? Breaking down the social engineering of scammers.
鈥淎 lot of the issue starts when you start believing what they鈥檙e saying,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he problem with intervention systems right now is that they try to prevent and detect scams, but they don鈥檛 help the user psychologically in high-pressure situations.鈥
It鈥檚 not just phone calls that Upputuru is aiming to protect users from 鈥 she鈥檚 also aiming to warn users of suspicious links sent via email, text, and social media.
To reach the users who need her product the most, Upputuru prioritized accessibility in her app design. From voice guidance features to adjustable text sizes, color modes, and language options, she is designing the interface to be accessible to a wide range of users.
From Concept to Reality
After the competition, Upputuru returned to Tampa with a renewed sense of confidence
in both her idea and her ability to bring it to life.
鈥淪eeing all these other countries have such great ideas and their own passions made
me realize that these are the best of the best, and I'm with them,鈥 she said. 鈥淎t
the end of the day, there's always something I can learn from them.鈥
2026 USA Red Bull Basement Competition winners with mentors and judges.
After the competition, new connections with mentors from Microsoft and Advanced Micro
Devices gave Upputuru confidence to continue developing the project.
鈥淭he public voted SafeStep Secure pretty high in their leaderboard which showed me
that this is a product people wish they had,鈥 Upputuru said. 鈥淚t showed me that it
doesn't really matter where you come from, but if you have the right idea and you
have the passion for it, you're going to get there.鈥
Upputuru plans to continue working with mentors as she seeks funding for Safe Step
Secure's launch. This summer, she is interning with Raymond James' IT Tech Risk and
Assurance department, where she hopes to gain experience that will help turn SafeStep
Secure into a market-ready product.