deen
Menü öffnen

Throwback to the annual Cyber Crime & IT Security event

IT security with CORTEX and initiative.ulm.digital

The Security Day, which was organized by CORTEX media GmbH for the first time in 2016, provided food for thought and prompted some visitors to work on security gaps in their private and business environments. At the same time, the number of curious people increased and with it the demand for events on the topic of security on the World Wide Web. As a result, we continued to focus on the topic of IT security in 2017 and helped organize the annual event of initiative.ulm.digital, among other things.

Crime & IT-Security

The event was entitled Crime & IT Security and took place on October 25, 2017 in Ulm’s Stadthaus. Andreas Buchenscheit, Managing Director of CORTEX media GmbH, is a co-founder and board member of the initiative. When the doors of the Ulm town hall opened at 6 p.m., the rooms quickly filled up with around 300 invited guests, including the three members of the Bundestag Ronja Kemmer, Hilde Mattheis and Alexander Kulitz.

The event was opened by Heribert Fritz, Chairman of initiative.ulm.digital e.V. and Managing Director of UNO GmbH. “We don’t just make headlines, we also do something,” was his motto. The initiative has already proven this with the successful LoRaWAN project. Lord Mayor Gunter Czisch then welcomed the eager visitors to the packed town hall.

Björn Semjan, Treasurer of initiative.ulm.digital e.V. and Managing Director of systemzwo GmbH, presented some interesting statistics to provide a perfect introduction to the topic of cybercrime and IT security. For example, the most commonly used password in 2013 was revealed to be 123456, despite the importance of protecting our data, especially in the age of the World Wide Web.

Andreas Buchenscheit then showed where things get difficult and what is possible when it comes to crime on the internet. The title of his presentation was: “I read your emails, make calls on your smartphone and know what you did yesterday.” This was immediately put into practice when he called Lord Mayor Gunter Czisch from his smartphone, but Manfred Oster, CEO of Sparkasse Ulm, was shown as the caller on his display. This security vulnerability could have serious consequences, especially when conducting banking transactions by telephone. Furthermore, Buchenscheit paralyzed a website live – and of course after consultation – within a few seconds and revealed where our data can end up through supposedly secure smart home products. The visitors were visibly astonished, but were able to breathe a sigh of relief because, as Andreas Buchenscheit emphasized, there are certainly ways to protect yourself from such threats – whether privately or in a company.

After Manfred Oster, CEO of Sparkasse Ulm, and Klaus Eder, Managing Director of SWU, answered a few questions from moderator Sebastian Pauls about IT security in their companies, the guests were introduced to the latest IT security facts and statistics in the foyer during the break. With snacks, drinks and musical entertainment from Ulm-based band FUNK THAT SOUL, visitors were able to chat with each other and the speakers. After the break, the entertainment continued as star magician Florian Zimmer took to the stage and demonstrated some of his wide repertoire of illusions.
scroll

However, things then became more serious again, as Dr. Gerhard Schabhüser, Vice President of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), showed how threatened Germany’s cyberspace actually is. According to the BSI’s own studies, every 40th website is infected and cyber espionage is only discovered after 243 days on average. Significant security gaps that play an ever-increasing role in the success or failure of a company.

Thomas Brackvogel, Chairman of initiative.ulm.digital e.V. and Managing Director of Neue Pressegesellschaft mbh und Co.KG, concluded this informative and very successful evening. With the words “I encourage you to be more careful and cautious with the Internet.” he concludes the event and invites you to join in the discussion afterwards. There was lively discussion about the presentations well into the night and the evening came to a pleasant end.

If you would like to get more insights into the event, read the article in the Südwest Presse or watch the movie about the event.