Weekly Topics - Week 10: IT Security

source: Pixabay

The task for this week is to write about the cyber security situation in my home country. My home country is Germany, so I’ll write about that country.

A good indicator for measuring cyber security is the Mitnick formula. It consists of three parts: technology (networks, firewalls, antiviruses, etc.), training (awareness of different attacks) and policy (set procedure and requirements).

Germany has the Federal Office for Information Security. The BSI's goal is to protect government networks and secure central network transitions [2]. Since there’s currently a war in the Ukraine, many countries started to look at their cyber security. Concerns about cyberattacks in Germany have increased a lot.

“75% of respondents are concerned that hackers could cripple power or water supplies or shut down communications networks. And it looks like we are not adequately equipped against this.” [1]

The IT industry association assumes that the Ukraine war could shift even more to the digital realm as it progresses. This would also mean that fake news and trolls will continue to increase. If Russia wants to hit the critical infrastructure, Germany is rather poorly equipped. Critical infrastructure includes energy and water suppliers, transport systems, hospitals, politics, and the media. All of this is digitally networked and therefore vulnerable to attack. [1]

Cybersecurity is in Germany the duty of the system operators themselves. Matthias Hollick, Head of the TU Darmstadt Secure Mobile Networking Lab, explains:

“In recent years, our systems have become very complex. This means that no one understands them, they have huge attack surfaces and are therefore almost impossible to secure. If there is a vulnerability in a subsystem, an attacker could get in and possibly paralyze the main system via a domino effect.”[1]

Experts call for fundamental changes in the cyber security in Germany. The cyber security strategy should be more defensive and secure the IT from the government, economy, and individuals. Additionally, there should be an emergency mode installed in the systems that would ensure them to work during an attack.

 

Sources:

[1] https://www.swr3.de/aktuell/nachrichten/wie-sicher-in-deutschland-vor-cyberangriffen-100.html

[2] https://www.bsi.bund.de/DE/Das-BSI/Auftrag/auftrag_node.html

 

 

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