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19/04/2021

msg is pooling its extensive cybersecurity expertise in a security advisory unit. In this viewpoint interview, General Manager Jürgen Fritsche explains the role this industry knowledge, acquired over decades, plays and how to protect organizations’ treasures by increasing the resilience of their business models.

With the IT Security Act 2.0, the German government is underscoring the high importance of information and cyber security in Germany. What is the importance of cyber security for companies and organizations?

Jürgen Fritsche: On December 16, 2020, the draft of the second act to increase the security of IT systems (IT Security Act 2.0) was approved by the German Federal Cabinet. The reason for the redraft is that since 2015, when the IT Security Act (1.0) was passed, the cyber threat level has increased further. The defensive measures taken and the state of security technology have not kept pace with the development of cyber threats.

Information and cyber security have become critical for companies and organizations because cyber attacks are possible without much effort. However, the return on investment is very attractive to attackers. The temptations are simply huge when a small effort is matched by a large return. That is why almost all organizations, whether governmental or private, will be exposed to cyber attacks sooner or later. The organizations that are most interesting to attackers are even permanent targets.

This is also the reason for the high self-interest of organizations to secure their IT systems against attacks. On the one hand, this is about protecting values. On the other hand, it is about making their performance and competitiveness resilient – in other words, making their own business model resilient to external threats.

What impacts has Corona had?

Corona has changed everything. On the one hand, many companies first had to enable mobile working. To do this, systems had to be enhanced and access had to be set up for employees. In many cases, it was basically a matter of acquiring hardware and software and learning how to work from home. All data that is still paper-based has been and will be digitalized wherever possible so that employees can access it from anywhere. The increased storage of data in digital form also brings new risks. The reason: Data is now digitally vulnerable. The proliferation of digital devices has significantly increased the number of potential entry points. Corona has thus given digitalization in general a tremendous (and urgently needed) boost. However, there was often too little time for risk assessments and preventive measures – including in the form of trainings.

How can msg contribute here? How has your company positioned itself for this?

If the damage has already occurred, we are called in by customers to establish regular operations and to conduct forensic analyses to identify causes and vulnerabilities. We then endeavor to ensure that the customer’s business can continue and the vulnerabilities are eliminated. The moment of realization often then follows. It becomes clear that cyber security must be intrinsic to the organization.

And this is where you come in?

How do you concentrate your efforts?

At msg, we have been developing the topic of IT security for many years and from different angles. The experience we have gained in various industries is correspondingly vast. So, we already had the expertise in terms of content, just distributed across the organization.

At the end of last year, we therefore pooled our experts in a security advisory unit. This unit includes competences for organizational security, technical security and infrastructural security. This concentration of experience, knowledge, methodology and technology in one organizational form creates a dynamic that is capable of generating more benefits than was previously possible.

The IT security market is at an all-time high. Why is that?

We have long been in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution, by with we mean the age of the cyber-physical systems. The internet of things has become real. We have learned to use digitalization and also to develop and operate new digital business models. Corporate assets are also increasingly only available digitally. Therefore, it stands to reason that people and organizations will find themselves operating illegally in the digital space; be it to steal digital assets, to corrupt them or to blackmail organizations with them.

The business models of criminal organizations have also developed very quickly in recent times. The state of security methods and the security technologies used have not been able to keep pace with the development of cyber threats because every organization was and is already busy enough organizing its ongoing digital operations. There is simply a lack of capacity to implement security measures and to handle security incidents. This is unlikely to change in the future..

Could you briefly outline the key points and working methods? What exactly do you offer?

Because we have deep insights into many industries, we are often called upon to anchor information and cyber security in organizations top-down. I would describe our way of working as hands-on. We analyze, recommend the most practical solution approaches, operationalize solutions, manage the implementation or implement the solutions ourselves. If necessary, up to the customer's infrastructure. We leave our pocket squares, if they exist at all, at home and roll up our sleeves.

How important is msg’s in-depth industry knowledge for IT security consulting?

The industry knowledge we have acquired over more than four decades in the msg group is extremely important for our daily work. Proactively anchoring information and cyber security in organizations is simply far better than reactively eliminating or to minimizing damage.

To establish security intrinsic to the organization, we need to understand our customers’ strategy and their business models. We can do this best by working with our msg industry experts to develop solutions. The in-depth business knowledge combined with the know-how from security consulting generates synergies for our customers.

Learn more about security advisors