Employees are the most important link in the security chain in the fight against cybercrime, says Marcus Beyer from Swisscom. He presents the contents of his talk at the Internet Security Days (ISD) presentation in a short interview. The eco Association invites you to attend this IT security conference on 29-30 September 2022 at Phantasialand Brühl, Germany.

Cybercriminals are increasingly well organised, and the risk and consequences of a cybersecurity incident are underestimated by many, explains Chris Lichtenthäler, Senior Manager at auditing firm Deloitte, in an interview: You talk about “Crime as a Service” - how well organised are cybercriminals? That depends...

Minimise the virtual attack surface and strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty. Gregor Peter, Technical Solution Engineer at Myra Security GmbH talks about how this can be achieved in an interview.

eco Board Prof. Norbert Pohlmann: “Avoid national unilateralism. User-friendliness and open standards should be at the heart of promoting acceptance of digital identities and open competition.” 

The human factor plays a central role in IT security, says Vivien Schiller from adesso SE in a short interview. She will also speak on this topic at the ISDs on 30 September at Phantasialand Brühl.

In the combination of cybersecurity and conventional property protection, many companies miss out on vulnerabilities. Lukas Grunwald from DN-Systems explains how cybercriminals exploit these vulnerabilities, both in his contribution at ISD 2022 and in this short interview.

Holiday time is burglary time, a Smart Home offers appropriate security systems. However, vulnerabilities in Smart Home solutions are also becoming increasingly apparent. Jan Wendenburg, CEO, ONEKEY, explains in an interview how to secure your Smart Home solutions and the integrated connected IoT devices.

Many SMEs put their own cybersecurity at risk with their lack of knowledge, which leads to more successful ransomware attacks. Unfortunately, IT security will probably have to be reinforced in the future by companies, says Gökhan Kurtbay in an interview with eco.

The use of digital identities is growing by around 20 to 30 per cent annually. A joint study by eco and techconsult shows potentials and obstacles in the use of digital identities.

According to the eco survey, 81.6 per cent of all parents surveyed restrict the circle of recipients when they share photos via messenger services. Only 8.8 per cent use smileys to cover their child’s face.

More and more services are shifting from the analogue to the digital world. In order for users to be able to use online services with confidence, regardless of whether they are provided by public or private providers, a secure and Europe-wide standardised solution for authentication is needed,

On 29 and 30 September 2022, the Internet Security Days (ISDs) will return to Phantasialand near Cologne. Participants can expect four main topics over two days with approximately 40 exciting presentations. Keynotes will be delivered by Arne Schönbohm and Felix Lindner, among others.

How secure are our devices when they connect to the Internet? This is difficult for consumers to discern. The IT security label of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) now provides a solution. The eco Association welcomes this initiative and at the same time appeals to manufacturers and consumers to take responsibility for IT security.

In Germany, a large proportion of the population is very dissatisfied with the slow progress of digitalisation in many fields. As much as a quarter of those surveyed said that the topic of digital policy would have a major influence on their voting decision in the next federal state elections.

With the start of the war in Ukraine, critical infrastructure, businesses, and government agencies there became targets of cyberattacks. According to estimates by the BSI and eco Association, Germany has not – yet – become a greater target of cyberattacks. “This situation assessment could change at very short notice, and targeted as well as massive cyberattacks could severely compromise cybersecurity at any time,” says Prof. Norbert Pohlmann.

On 29 and 30 September 2022, the Internet Security Days (ISD) will take place once again in Phantasialand near Cologne, Germany. eco and heise Events invite IT security experts, security managers and user companies to exchange views on current threats and security strategies at the 12th ISD.

This year, it’s not just the Covid-19 pandemic, but also the threatening climate change which will continue to drive forward digital transformation in the economy and society. “Digitalisation is part of the solution to many challenges,” says eco Chair of the Board Oliver Süme.

As another Covid year draws to a close, let’s take the opportunity to review the digital policy highlights of this year! To begin with the brightest news of the year: In these Covid times, digital infrastructures, digital technologies and digital applications have kept things up and running, thereby contributing to combatting the pandemic by switching physical contacts to the virtual.

eco is sharply critical of the fact that companies may be legally obliged to make their telecommunications equipment available for the imperceptible installation of government spying software and the redirection of data.

Regarding the Log4J vulnerability, Prof. Norbert Pohlmann, Board Member for IT Security at eco, sees the threat from cyber attacks as having hit a frightening new level. The German federal government must now do everything they can to quickly shut down the existing IT vulnerabilities.  

The Internet of Things (IoT) is growing rapidly, and everyday objects are more and more connected to the Internet and to other devices. It is increasingly difficult for consumers to judge which devices and services have which security features.

Fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic, experts expect record online retail sales for the 2021 holiday season. Unfortunately, this is also the high season for cyber criminals who lure bargain hunters themselves with fake shops.

The upcoming German federal government plans to produce a surveillance overview bill by the end of 2023 at the latest. This will create an important basis for more transparency on state surveillance powers – a move strongly welcomed by the eco Association.

The world’s leading Internet Exchange operator DE-CIX has been honored in the  Global Carrier Awards 2021 in the categories Best Internet Exchange operator and Best Marketing Campaign.

Prof. Norbert Pohlmann, Board Member for IT security at eco – Association of the Internet Industry comments on the Status Report on IT Security in Germany by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

How is the potential threat from cyber crime growing for the German industry? eco – Association of the Internet Industry has been undertaking surveys among Germany’s IT security experts for more than 10 years.

For the new legislative term, the eco Association sees digital policy priorities in the areas of digital infrastructure, digital education and administration, cybersecurity and consistent data protection on the Internet. The association has formulated core demands and recommendations for action in an Internet Policy Agenda.

As part of the European Cyber Security Month, the eco Association supports the free IT security training for citizens by SoSafe and botfree.

eco's DNS-over-HTTPS whitepaper shows need for action by all providers of Internet infrastructures. The association provides information at the it-sa security trade fair in Nuremberg on potential threats and protection options for the Domain Name System (DNS).

Two parallel thematic tracks full of presentations, discussions and networking on the topic of cyber security: From 16 to 17 September 2021, over 150 security experts and more than 60 speakers met at the second digital ISD in the event tool talque.