Thanks to the advancing digitalization, companies benefit from the increasing networking of their systems and, for example, automated production. But at the same time, the dangers are also growing: more and more companies are becoming victims of hacker attacks.
Interview with Florian Goldenstein, Head of IT-Security, Konica Minolta IT Soutions GmbH
Mr. Goldenstein, what security risks are companies currently facing?
In recent times, criminals have increasingly succeeded in penetrating corporate networks via weak points. Whereas in the past a virus was only supposed to cause damage, today intelligent malware aims to remain undetected for as long as possible and to extract as much data and information as possible. Ransomware is also dangerous: with this blackmail software, data is complexly encrypted by hackers and only released for ransom. The damage caused by these attacks is already in the multimillions.
It is also conceivable that hackers could paralyze entire production facilities in companies, in the worst case even critical infrastructures on a national level. Attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and more difficult to trace. In addition, criminals are using the advantages of artificial intelligence for their activities. The associated danger is that companies affected will suffer major financial losses. Small companies are even threatened with bankruptcy. There is also the threat of serious damage to their image. The situation is therefore threatening.
Can medium-sized and smaller companies still lull themselves into security because they are not interesting for criminals?
No, not at all. It is no longer the question of whether a company will be attacked, but when. Regardless of the size of the company. Large companies have become better and better prepared for cyber attacks. In the past, data loss or costs due to ransomware extortion were too painful. This is why cyber criminals are increasingly focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and networked control devices in the IoT sector where they expect a less sophisticated security infrastructure. In this way, they hope for a higher chance of success for their attacks. The potential victims must therefore become aware of the adapted strategies of the attackers and, due to the frequent lack of human resources and insufficient know-how, look for experts to support them in effectively and efficiently protecting their company.