What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity (also known as information technology (IT) security) is the practice of protecting critical systems and sensitive information from digital attacks. These cyberattacks usually target:
– Access, alter or destroy confidential information
– Extort money from users via ransomware
– Disrupt business processes
Cybersecurity measures are designed to combat threats against networked systems and applications, regardless of whether these threats originate from inside or outside an organization.
The history of cybersecurity begins with the dawn of the internet – cybersecurity and cyberthreats have been present throughout the last 50 years of technological change. In the 1970s and 1980s, computer security was mainly confined to academia until the conception of the internet, where computer viruses and network intruders emerged as connectivity increased. After the spread of viruses in the 1990s, the 2000s marked the institutionalization of cyberthreats and cybersecurity.
Implementing effective cybersecurity measures is a particular challenge today, as there are more devices than people and attackers are becoming increasingly innovative. Nevertheless, people, processes and technologies must complement each other in order to create an effective defense against cyber attacks.
Cybersecurity in Germany
Nowadays, cybersecurity is regulated by special organizations. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, ENISA, for example, is the organization that manages European cybersecurity. ENISA was founded in 2004 and has set itself the goal of achieving a high common level of cybersecurity across Europe. With the EU Cybersecurity Act, ENISA contributes to EU cyber policy, strengthens the trustworthiness of ICT products, services and processes with cybersecurity certification schemes, cooperates with Member States and EU bodies and helps Europe prepare for the cyber challenges of tomorrow.
The main activities of ENISA are:
- Strengthening communities
- Legislation and strategy
- Operational cooperation
- Capacity building
- Confidence-building solutions
- Foresight
- Knowledge
In addition, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity has developed a customized cyber security strategy for Germany, which is published on its official website. According to this, the strategic goals and measures consist of 10 major parts:
- Protection of critical information infrastructures
- Secure IT systems in Germany
- Strengthening IT security in public administration
- National Cyber Response Center
- National Cyber Security Council
- Fighting crime effectively in cyberspace too
- Effective coordinated measures to ensure cybersecurity in Europe and worldwide
- Use of reliable and trustworthy information technology
- Personnel development in federal authorities
- Tools for responding to cyber attacks
Through knowledge sharing, capacity building and awareness raising, the Agency is working with its key stakeholders to strengthen trust in the networked economy, make the Union’s infrastructure more resilient and ultimately ensure a secure digital environment for European society and citizens.
The aim of the BSI is to promote information security and cybersecurity in order to enable and promote the use of secure information and communication technology in government, business and society.
The tasks of the BSI include
- Protection of federal networks, detection and defense against attacks on government networks
- Testing, certification and accreditation of IT products and services
- Warning of malware or security vulnerabilities in IT products and services
- IT security consulting for the federal administration and other target groups
- Informing and sensitizing the public and the economy on the topic of IT and Internet security
- Development of uniform and binding IT security standards
- Development of cryptographic systems for federal information technology
The BSI is also responsible for protecting the federal government’s IT systems. This involves defending against cyberattacks and other technical threats to the IT systems and networks of the federal administration.
The threat of cyber attacks on German SMEs
Nowadays, cyber threats are changing at a rapid pace. Tactics and attack methods change and improve daily. Understanding the importance of cybersecurity for small and medium-sized businesses and avoiding potential threats requires knowledge of the types of cyberattacks.
Currently, the most common cybersecurity threats are:
1. malware attacks
Malware is an abbreviation for “malicious software” and is the most common type of cyber attack. Malware infiltrates a system, usually via a link on an untrusted website or email or an unwanted software download. It is installed on the target system, collects sensitive data, manipulates and blocks access to network components and can destroy data or shut down the system completely. Malware includes viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, cryptojacking, spyware, adware, fileless malware and rootkits. Among them, viruses, ransomware and cryptojacking are the most widespread.
- Viruses – a piece of code inserts itself into an application. When the application is executed, the malicious code is executed.
- Ransomware – a user or organization is denied access to their own systems or data through encryption. The attacker usually demands payment of a ransom in exchange for a key to restore access, but there is no guarantee that paying the ransom will actually restore full access or functionality.
- Cryptojacking – Attackers install software on a victim’s device and begin using their computer resources to generate cryptocurrency without their knowledge. Affected systems can become slow and cryptojacking kits can affect system stability.
2. social engineering attacks
Social engineering is the second type of cybersecurity threat and involves tricking users into providing an entry point for malware. The victim discloses sensitive information or unknowingly installs malware on their device because the attacker is posing as a legitimate actor.
Social engineering attacks include baiting, pretexting, phishing, vishing (voice phishing), smishing (SMS phishing), piggybacking and tailgating.
Phishing is the most common method – the attacker sends emails pretending to be from a trusted source. Phishing often involves sending fraudulent emails to as many users as possible, but can also be targeted.
3. attacks on the supply chain
Supply chain attacks are a new type of threat to software developers and vendors. The purpose is to infect legitimate applications and spread malware via source code, build processes or software update mechanisms.
Attackers look for insecure network protocols, server infrastructures and coding techniques and use them to compromise build and update processes, modify source code and hide malicious content.
Attacks on the supply chain are particularly serious because the applications compromised by attackers are signed and certified by trusted vendors. In a software supply chain attack, the software vendor is unaware that its applications or updates are infected with malware. Malicious code is executed with the same trust and privileges as the compromised application.
Supply chain attacks include:
- Compromise of build tools or development pipelines
- Compromise of code signing procedures or developer accounts
- Malicious code sent as automatic updates to hardware or firmware components
- Malicious code pre-installed on physical devices
4. man-in-the-middle attacks
In a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack, communication between two endpoints, such as a user and an application, is intercepted. The attacker can eavesdrop on the communication, steal confidential data and impersonate any party involved in the communication.
Wi-Fi eavesdropping, email hijacking, DNS spoofing, IP spoofing and HTTPS spoofing are examples of man-in-the-middle attacks.
5. denial-of-service attacks
A denial of service (DoS) attack overloads the target system with a large volume of traffic, hindering the system’s ability to function normally. An attack involving multiple devices is called a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.
Examples of denial of service attacks include HTTP flood DDoS, SYN flood DDoS, UDP flood DDoS, ICMP flood and NTP amplification.
6. injection attacks
Injection attacks exploit a variety of vulnerabilities to inject malicious input directly into the code of a web application. Successful attacks can expose sensitive information, perform a DoS attack or compromise the entire system.
SQL Injection, Code Injection, OS Command Injection, LDAP Injection, XML eXternal Entities (XXE) Injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) are the main vectors for injection attacks.
Cybersecurity is extremely important for small and medium-sized companies, as it protects sensitive data such as customer information and business secrets from unauthorized access. Protecting this sensitive data is becoming relevant for all companies. Therefore, a lot is being done to protect data from cyber attacks. The implementation of a cybersecurity program is a mandatory requirement of German regulations and data protection laws.
Here are 10 benefits of implementing cybersecurity for small and medium-sized businesses:
- Rapid response to potential incidents
- Company protection against losses
- Protection against potentially catastrophic disruption from cyber attacks
- Reducing the risk of violating the prescribed safety
- Reducing the risk of a data breach
- Reducing the impact of data breaches by third parties as a result of attacks on the supply chain
- Increasing customer loyalty and trust
- Safe and productive working for employees
- Avoid downtime
- A feeling of security for employees and customers
Today, cybersecurity is critical for businesses – as the use of advanced technologies increases, modern businesses and their customers are becoming more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Strong cybersecurity solutions therefore enable organizations to increase employee productivity and safety, as well as maintain the company’s reputation for peace of mind and being unaffected by cyberthreats.
How to prevent cyber attacks: threat intelligence software
When it comes to concrete measures to defend against cyberattacks, cybersecurity solutions can be a great way to protect the entire organization. In addition to defending against cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity solutions help companies deal with accidental damage, physical disasters and other threats.
There are six types of cybersecurity solutions:
- Application Security – Used to test software application vulnerabilities during development and protect applications running in production from threats such as network attacks, software vulnerability exploits and web application attacks.
- Network Security – Monitors network traffic, identifies potentially harmful traffic and enables organizations to block, filter or mitigate threats.
- Cloud Security – Implements security controls in public, private and hybrid cloud environments and detects and fixes incorrect security configurations and vulnerabilities.
- Endpoint security – deployed on endpoints such as servers and employee workstations to prevent threats such as malware, unauthorized access and exploitation of operating system and browser vulnerabilities.
- Internet of Things (IoT) security – Connected devices are often used to store sensitive data, but are usually not protected by design. IoT security solutions help to gain visibility and improve security for IoT devices.
- Threat Intelligence – Combines multiple feeds of attack signature and threat actor data and provides additional context for security events. Threat intelligence data can help security teams detect and understand attacks and develop the most appropriate response.
Darktrace
Founded in 2013, Darktrace is a global leader in AI-powered cybersecurity, providing complete AI-powered solutions to protect the enterprise from the world’s most complex threats such as ransomware, cloud and SaaS attacks.
The products offered by Darktrace aim to provide superior prevention, detection and response to cyber threats and recovery from the attacks that have occurred.
Contraception
- Prioritization of threats
- Strengthen the body’s defenses
- Risk reduction
Recognition
- Immediate visibility of attacks
Answer
- Autonomous, always active action to contain and defuse attacks
Healing
- Recovery in the event of a cyberattack and return of systems to a trustworthy operating state
Greenbone
Greenbone is an open source vulnerability management provider that offers products that identify security vulnerabilities before cybercriminals can exploit them, assess their risk potential and recommend remediation measures.
Enterprise appliances – vulnerability management appliances for IT infrastructures that are available as hardware or in virtual form
- Scan service
- Web interface
- Special hardware for hardware appliances
Cloud service – technically high-quality, easy-to-use vulnerability management service
- Scan the IT infrastructure for security vulnerabilities
- A report with all vulnerabilities found, sorted by severity
SoSafe
SoSafe is a fast-growing security company that empowers self-defense in a digital and connected world and helps companies manage their human risk sustainably. SoSafe uses advanced psychological techniques that drive behavioral change in its products. The company closes the biggest security gap – the human layer – and effectively reduces risks
Teach – intelligent micro-learning
- Content from the real world for practical experience
- “Snackable” and easy-to-understand learning modules
- Preset nudges and gamification in e-learning modules
- Add your company’s logo, colors and style to all content
- Customize the content of the module
- SCORM streaming directly via your LMS
- ISO/IEC 27001-compliant reports and dashboards
- First-class customer success consulting
- Fully localized content in over 30 languages
Transfer – intelligent attack simulations
- Tools and setup to quickly launch your first campaign
- Eliminate manual management with our continuous “always-on” model
- User-optimized look and feel that connects with the learner’s journey
- Premium industry templates that cover multiple scenarios
- Unique learning moments that capture the learner’s attention
- Customize spear phishing campaigns to your exact specifications
- Ethical hacker support available for high-profile simulations
- Seamless reporting and automated analysis from your inbox
- Smart Phishing Report Button for faster detection of threats
- Analyzer tool associates email risk assessment with threat information
- Automated employee feedback directly after successful reporting
Act – Strategic Risk & Reporting Cockpit
- Behavioral metrics localize important weak points
- Extensive metrics show the success of the phishing simulation
- Industry benchmarks and statistics provide orientation
- Fully GDPR-compliant with Privacy by Design
- ISO/IEC 27001-compliant ready-made reports and dashboards
- Anonymous tracking and reporting options available
ForeNova
ForeNova is a rapidly expanding cybersecurity company based in Europe that focuses on ransomware and other dangerous cyberthreats. The company offers best-in-class cybersecurity solutions developed in partnership with a global cybersecurity leader, providing SMBs with world-class security capabilities at an affordable price. The solutions provide security administrators with unparalleled network and endpoint visibility to detect even the most sophisticated and stealthy threats and prevent devastating losses and business impact to organizations.
The unified command center
- Recognize unknown threats and take quick action
- Gain transparency and control over the network and all devices
- Shorten the time to solution by simplifying examinations
- Use autonomous reactions around the clock to fend off quick attacks
- Reduce the burden on the security team
Threat detection
- Vulnerability scans on demand or according to schedule
- Tracking of company resources and unauthorized devices
- Hot patching for unpatched vulnerabilities
- Ransomware honeypot capability
- Containment and mitigation of malware and APTs
- Microsegmentation
Benjamin Richter, Managing Director Konsultec
Benjamin Richter is a cyber security expert and Lead Auditor ISO 27001. Since September 2022, he has shared the management of Konsultec GmbH, based in Bergisch Gladbach and Schmallenberg in the Sauerland region, together with Sebastian Rinne.
So don’t hesitate to get in touch with him on LinkedIn for advice on relevant topics.
Mail: info@konsultec.de
Phone: +49 (0)221 2924 1780
