This year’s Internet Security Days (ISD) 2024 took place under the motto ‘Security as a Gamechanger’ at the RheinEnergieSTADION, home of 1. FC Cologne. The focus of the industry get-together was on how cybersecurity influences the digitalisation of the economy and society. New technologies, regulations and attack vectors show that digital innovation is only possible on a sustainable basis with reliable protective measures: cybersecurity minimises risks while driving innovation.
Focus on email security
In 2023, 206 billion Euros worth of damage was caused by cybercrime in Germany alone – a sum that clearly illustrates the economic dimension of the problem. And although there are countless communication channels for both private and business use today, email is still the central means of communication in the business environment. If security standards are not adhered to here, there is a risk of financial and legal consequences as well as reputational damage.
BSI President Claudia Plattner, who gave a live address from South Korea, emphasised that the topic of email security is of particular importance to the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). In her keynote speech, she underscored the importance of the technical guideline for email authentication as an effective protection against phishing and spoofing – something that she described as a ‘matter close to her heart’. In the ‘Secure Email’ workshop, Florian Vierke from Mapp Digital Germany also talked about current challenges, key technologies and the technical guidelines TR 3108 and TR 3182, including S/MIME-encrypted messages. Florian Bierhoff from the BSI then shared valuable insights from a European perspective and showed how Germany compares to its European partners.
New regulations urge action
With the deadline for the NIS2 directive in October, companies now urgently need to review their security standards. Risk management is becoming mandatory in order to comply with legal requirements, avoid sanctions and improve security standards. However, many companies find it difficult to assess the extent to which they are affected. A deep dive with Prof. Norbert Pohlmann, Christoph Callewaert from Reuschlaw and eco experts Philip Ehmann and Ulrich Plate at an NIS2 workshop showed which steps companies should take now.
Growing importance of cyber resilience
In view of the increasing professionalisation of attackers, it is becoming increasingly unrealistic to protect companies completely from attacks. The focus is now on detecting attacks early and mitigating risks. Dr Michael Lemke from Huawei, Dominic Haussmann from Cloudflare and Thomas Tschersich from Deutsche Telekom Security discussed solutions for efficiently countering threats such as ransomware and phishing. In a subsequent panel discussion, the speakers highlighted how the topic of ‘cyber resilience’ can be translated into users’ practices.
Using AI for defence
Artificial intelligence will also play an important role in the future, both for cyber attacks and for defence against them. Already known attacks such as zero day, DDoS or phishing can be made more precise by AI and are more difficult to detect. Experts such as Dr Christian Reinhardt from SoSafe and Sonja Gresser from IBM Germany warned against AI-controlled attacks, but emphasised that AI can also be used efficiently to detect anomalies in data traffic and take action more quickly
Sustainable commitment to IT security
Every year, eco brings together users, manufacturers and security experts at the ISD to promote practical solutions. This collaboration strengthens security and promotes a resilient digital future. During the two-day event, participants were able to attend a total of 25 keynotes, panels and discussions by around 40 cybersecurity experts. And off-stage, Cloudflare, SoSafe, dogado, Huawei and Myra Securityy provided information about their IT security solutions at their stands. Another highlight of this year’s ISD, in addition to the Security Night at PLAYA IN COLOGNE, was the tribute paid to eco members TIMOCOM, DOKOM21, dogado GmbH and DMI GmbH & Co. KG for 15 years of loyal association membership, presented by eco’s Managing Directors Andreas Weiss and Alexander Rabe.
For more impressions of the ISD 2024, visit our flickr gallery.
