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.

The safety test standard ETSI EN 303 645, which was already published in mid-2021, is intended to ensure more uniformity of safety standards for IoT devices, especially on the European market. The test standard is a recommendation to manufacturers and addresses all networked consumer IoT devices, especially in the Smart Home sector.

Last week, the German Federal Cabinet adopted a new cybersecurity strategy for the next five years. It aims to strengthen the protection and IT security of citizens, companies and critical infrastructures.

The number of phishing attacks risescontinuously every year: Employees are particularly exposed to this security risk when working from home. We talk to Marcus Beyer, Security Awareness Officer at Swisscom Switzerland AG.

In the ’new normal’, employees in the home office are more threatened than ever by phishing attacks, says Dr. Niklas Hellemann of SoSafe. As an expert, he will be presenting a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity awareness at ISD 2021. Here are a few tips for companies.

How secure are IT services and technical devices? The IT Security Label is intended to provide consumers with guidance in the future. The BSI gave an overview at a meeting of the eco Competence Group Abuse.

What are the legal implications of IT security incidents and what sensible countermeasures can companies take in advance? In an interview we talk about this with Stefan Hessel , Attorney-at-law at LL.M, who is working as Senior Associate and Co-Head of the Digital Business Unit at reuschlaw Legal Consultants in Saarbrücken.

With many employees working from home, the risk of falling victim to phishing attacks has increased for many companies. eco Association gives 7 tips.

In the eco IT Security Study 2021, 20 percent of the 175 IT security experts stated that their company or their customers had been the target of a ransomware attack at least once in the past year. How will the security situation change in the future due to artificial intelligence, machine learning and mobile working? We talk about this in an interview with Walter Haas, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Huawei Germany.

How can companies deal with ransomware attacks? What is the response to ransomware attacks? We talk about this in an interview with Helmut Brechtken, who is a partner at the Deloitte GmbH and advises companies on digital forensic incident response.

The threat situation for SMEs in Germany is getting worse, say 74 percent of the security experts surveyed in the eco Security Study 2021. Cyber criminals know the common and current security vulnerabilities, for example on email servers, and specifically look for systems that have not yet closed them.

How can a well-constructed Domain Name System (DNS) structure contribute to IT security in healthcare? We talk about this in an interview with Sven-Holger Wabnitz, Senior Advisor at DomiNIC.

The smartphone is our all-time companion, even on holiday at the beach or a lake, and is therefore at risk in many situations. The eco Association gives the mobile users 7 tips to keep in mind in order to prevent unauthorised data access.