IT Specialist Bielefeld | IT Forensics | IT Security Bielefeld and East Westphalia

Cyber Security More Important for Companies Than Ever

As the current Cyber Security Report 2015 of Telekom shows, which the IT specialists of Kurtz IT Service follow with interest every year anew, decision-makers from politics and business, including 113 members of parliament and 532 executives, regard damage caused by computer viruses and data fraud on the internet as the greatest danger among risks from all areas of life. Other dangers frequently mentioned in the survey also concern the IT sector and demonstrate fears of data misuse through social networks on the one hand (63 per cent) and through large companies on the other (52 per cent), as well as concerns about being monitored by the intelligence services of one’s own state or of foreign countries (49 per cent). The respondents’ assessment regarding the currently increasing risks likewise underlines the danger of data misuse: no fewer than 36 per cent of entrepreneurs and politicians see this as the greatest threat for the future.

 

A full 46 per cent of the affected companies in Germany had to deal regularly – several times a month, weekly or even daily – with attacks from the World Wide Web in 2015, thereby demonstrating that the great concern is not unfounded, while the population appears to be aware of the dangers from the internet only to a significantly lesser degree. The fact that many of the online attacks aimed at companies can be solved does not conceal the reality that most of these criminal activities are not discovered immediately but often only several months later and by that time have frequently already led to considerable losses. The German economy suffers annual damages of 51 billion euros from industrial espionage alone – a sum that could have been significantly reduced through early detection and timely intervention, for example by deploying our IT experts from Bielefeld.

Virtual Attack – Material Damage

There is one ray of hope: at least 82 per cent of large German companies employ permanent IT staff and in a total of 64 per cent of all companies IT security concepts exist or are at least in planning; however, only 21 per cent of small companies (10 to 50 employees) employ their own IT specialists. This low percentage among small companies is surprising, since the Cyber Security Report shows that, regardless of the size of the company, 90 per cent of respondents attribute high or very high importance to IT security. However, almost half of the entrepreneurs surveyed state that they have difficulties filling vacant IT positions, which increasingly brings the work of Kurtz IT Service Bielefeld into the focus of attention of many companies. Our IT specialists and corporate detectives are in demand not only in Bielefeld and East Westphalia but throughout Germany when companies require assistance in planning, developing or establishing a cyber security system.

 

A paradox of the Telekom report becomes apparent in the discrepancy between the fear of dangers from the internet and even the already experienced damage through cybercrime on the one hand and the nevertheless largely low (60 per cent) assessment of the risk of serious damage on the other. Our IT forensic experts in Bielefeld indeed frequently experience that their clients classify the damage caused by hackers as trivialities and do not view them as a threat to their own innovations, which is why clarification regarding the scale of financial damage and subsequent complications is urgently required.

Better to Take Precautions Than to Suffer the Consequences – IT Specialists Assist in Bielefeld and East Westphalia

The misjudgement or overconfidence of many entrepreneurs becomes particularly evident in the high percentage (60 per cent) of those who believe themselves to be optimally prepared for possible attacks and who regard their IT system as hardly susceptible to disruption. Sixteen per cent of companies entrust their own IT departments and computer specialists with monitoring their security system, whereas only 3 per cent of company directors commission external IT specialists such as those of Kurtz IT Service Bielefeld. In this respect there is considerable potential for optimisation, also because in almost 80 per cent of companies the management or department heads positioned directly below management are responsible for the security of information and communication, but in the rarest cases actually possess the technical expertise required for a secure and well-functioning system.

 

Another interesting and equally important point in the Cyber Security Report 2015 is the increased demand among the surveyed members of parliament and entrepreneurs for better support and promotion from the state in combating IT threats. Only 16 per cent of the recorded companies are integrated into cross-company security systems or involved in state-organised initiatives for improved digital protection. Compared with 2013, with a reduction of 10 per cent only 29 per cent of respondents still felt sufficiently supported by the state, while the demand for support increased by 12 per cent and is now expressed by more than half of the respondents. Such support could, for example, be financial in nature for the development of a security concept or through tax advantages when commissioning external companies such as Kurtz IT Service Bielefeld, which with its IT specialists and corporate detectives would of course gladly take on this task even more frequently.

Security Has Its Price

The increasing IT costs for companies, identified by 85 per cent of respondents in relation to steadily advancing digitalisation, are a worthwhile investment, even if the initial expenditure may be painful. Our corporate detectives in Bielefeld repeatedly observe among their clients that the safeguarding and protection of company innovations, information, data and communication cannot be weighed against the money that must be spent on implementing security measures, and that these precautions therefore represent far more than merely a necessary evil. Precisely because 31 per cent of entrepreneurs and politicians stated that they were uncertain about the scale of the investments required due to the rapid progress in the IT sector, this uncertainty can be resolved through consultation or by commissioning the IT specialists and corporate detectives of Kurtz IT Service Bielefeld: +49 521 2567 0055.

In times of Industry 4.0 and the associated ever-increasing networking and automation, 87 per cent of respondents fear hacker attacks on internal company IT systems; this fear can only be addressed through comprehensive protection in every direction. Regardless of what the company is engaged in, a uniform and consistent security system is indispensable for smooth operations, for the protection of company innovations and for maintaining competitiveness on the market – the IT department of the Kurtz Detective Agency Bielefeld is available for this purpose: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-bielefeld.de.

IT Forensics and IT Security Bielefeld | Kurtz IT Service
Department of Kurtz Detective Agency

Herforder Straße 69

D-33602 Bielefeld

Tel.: +49 521 2567 0055

E-Mail: kontakt@it-forensik-it-sicherheit.de

Web: https://it-forensik-it-sicherheit.de/en

Examples of Deployment Locations of Our IT Specialists in the Bielefeld Region:

• IT Expert for Ahlen (District of Warendorf)
• IT Expert for Bad Oeynhausen (District of Minden-Lübbecke)
• IT Expert for Bad Salzuflen (District of Lippe)
• IT Expert for Bünde (District of Herford)
• IT Expert for Detmold (District of Lippe)
• IT Expert for Gütersloh (District of Gütersloh)
• IT Expert for Hameln (District of Hameln-Pyrmont)
• Kurtz IT Service Hanover (Operational Site)
• IT Expert for Herford (District of Herford)
• IT Expert for Holzminden (District of Holzminden)
• IT Expert for Höxter (District of Höxter)
• IT Expert for Kassel
• IT Expert for Lage (District of Lippe)
• IT Expert for Lemgo (District of Lippe)
• IT Expert for Lippstadt (District of Soest)
• IT Expert for Löhne (District of Herford)
• IT Expert for Lübbecke (District of Minden-Lübbecke)
• IT Expert for Melle (District of Osnabrück)
• IT Expert for Minden (District of Minden-Lübbecke)
• Kurtz IT Service Münster (Operational Site)
• IT Expert for Osnabrück
• IT Expert for Paderborn (District of Paderborn)
• IT Expert for Petershagen (District of Minden-Lübbecke)
• IT Expert for Porta Westfalica (District of Minden-Lübbecke)
• IT Expert for Rheda-Wiedenbrück (District of Gütersloh)
• IT Expert for Soest (District of Soest)
• IT Expert for Warendorf (District of Warendorf)