IT Security in Industry and Economy

While major cyberattacks against large corporations often make it to the press, there is a constant and increasing barrage of minor attacks affecting smaller companies. Whether it is a case of piracy, ransomware, data depredation, denial of service, identity spoofing, or eavesdropping – and the list could go on as technology evolves – the victims suffer financial damage and significant harm to their image. In view of the new General Data Protection Regulation coming into force in May 2018, the risk of being prosecuted for grossly negligent data loss increases.

This short, but incisive event will gather IT security specialists from the Baden-Wurttemberg region of Germany and focus on the target groups that are becoming more vulnerable in the digitalized age and the solutions that are available to prevent malicious cyber-activities.

Oliver Winzenried, Wibu-Systems’ CEO and founder, will close the event with his provocatively titled lecture “You cannot buy IT security for Industrie 4.0 as a product”. In its pioneering role, his company has been defending digital assets from counterfeiting, reverse engineering, and tampering for the last 30 years. Traditionally, security has been seen as an optional addon meant for special markets only. With the advent of Industrie 4.0 though, cybersecurity becomes an essential cornerstone of any digital infrastructure that needs to be considered by default and embedded by design. Once all the embedded computing modules are intrinsically secure, communication encrypted, and software, firmware, and data shielded, the cyber risks drops to a practically insignificant value.