Digital forensics is an important component for cybersecurity because, as ZITiS President Wilfried Karl notes in an eco short interview on ISD 2023, it not only makes cyberspace a safer place. As part of the Internet Security Days (ISD) 2023, he will give a keynote on Digital Sovereignty.
Mr Karl, digital traces can help solve crimes. How does ZITiS support the police in this regard?
The number of digital traces at crime scenes is constantly increasing. The security authorities must be able to find and evaluate them as part of their investigative work. It is the mission of ZITiS to enable the German federal authorities – including the German Federal Police or the German Federal Criminal Police Office – to undertake security tasks. Therefore, in the areas of digital forensics, cryptanalysis, telecommunications surveillance, Big Data analysis and AI, we research, develop and evaluate methods and tools that the security authorities can employ in crime investigation.
How do digital forensics and cybersecurity belong together?
Cybersecurity is a very broad and still not a clearly defined term. To stick with the example of cybercrime: In the case of an investigation, a wide variety of (digital) traces can play a role. For this purpose, these traces must be forensically secured and processed to ensure that they can be used in legal proceedings. Digital forensics therefore aims to collect and analyse digital evidence, making it an essential component for cybersecurity, regardless of the definition used. By helping to identify criminals in both the analogue and digital world, it makes not only cyberspace a safer place for all of us.
Can you derive tips from your daily work on how companies can protect themselves against cyber attacks?
The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) in the German federal government serves as the contact for protection against cyber attacks, which is not our particular task. Our role focuses on research and development for security authorities. However, due to close exchange with our customers, we are well aware of the alarming rise in cyber crime cases in Germany. Against this background, I can only recommend that every company prioritises the protection of its own IT infrastructure and avoids cutting costs in the wrong areas.
Mr Karl, thank you very much for the interview!
