The district administration of Mayen-Koblenz is actively tackling IT security with ProSec

How can municipalities successfully protect themselves from hacking attacks? This question was the subject of one of the Event of the district administration Mayen-Koblenz, to which our co-founder Immanuel was invited as an expert and speaker. Using a live hacking demonstration, he clearly showed how little it takes for a successful hacking attack and how municipalities can still protect themselves against it. look up to date reported.

Immanuel as speaker at the district administration event

The list of hosts and invited guests clearly shows that the issue of cyber security is taken seriously in the Mayen-Koblenz district administration: District Administrator Dr. Alexander Saftig, office manager Petra Kretzschmann, the coordination office for digitization and the IT security officer of the district administration, Dirk Rohm. Among the invited guests at the event on the topics of cybercrime and IT security were the office managers of the municipalities, including their digital and IT managers.

District Administrator Dr. In his welcome address, Alexander Saftig explained the importance he attaches to the topic of cyber security in municipal administration:

Cyber security is indisputably one of the key factors of digital transformation and an important task for society as a whole. Within all municipalities, the topic should be of high relevance and everyone should be convinced that implementation is important and necessary.

dr Alexander Juicy

District Administrator Mayen-Koblenz

Warning example: hacker attack on the Rhine-Palatinate district

The first keynote speech of the event illustrated the devastating consequences a successful hacking attack on a municipality can have for employees and citizens. Jürgen Hesch, a member of the Rhineland-Palatinate district council, reported on this still ongoing restrictions after the cyber attack on the Rhine-Palatinate district last autumn.

Immediately after the attack, the district administration was completely paralyzed, according to Hesch: "No payments, no e-mails, no work". Even today, more than half a year after the incident, be one Return to normal operation not yet in sight. Many areas are still dependent on analogue work with pen and paper.

What municipalities can learn from the everyday life of a professional hacker

Following this sobering summary of the hacking incident in the Rhein-Palatinate district, our co-founder Immanuel drew attention to how municipalities can actively protect themselves from getting into a similar situation. The focus of his keynote speech was on the questions "What does IT security mean in 2023?" and "Who are today's attackers?".

Cyber security is a concern for municipal administrations in the Mayen-Koblenz district — Together they are campaigning for IT security in their districts: Office manager of the Mayen-Koblenz district administration Petra Kretzschmann, ProSec co-founder Immanuel Bär, district administrator Mayen-Koblenz Dr. Alexander Saftig, Tobias Querbach from the coordination center for digitization of the Mayen-Koblenz district administration, Deputy at the Rhineland-Palatinate district council Jürgen Hesch and IT security officer of the Mayen-Koblenz district administration Dirk Rohm (from left to right). (Photo: district administration/Damian Morcinek)

IT security as an affair of the heart

IT security is one for the co-founder of ProSec matter of the heart, especially when it comes to the home region of Koblenz. He is certain: "We have to make our region safe." He has been campaigning for this for several years Digital Advisory Board of the city of Koblenz and works - with lectures like this one - on the Networking of municipalities in terms of IT security. The Mayen-Koblenz district administration would like to further intensify the cooperation in the future and is currently planning the next steps with ProSec.

Live demonstration makes it clear: Users must be made aware

In his presentation, Immanuel reported on his everyday life as a professional hacker at ProSec. He explained the connection between digitization and hacking and how IT security is influenced by current geopolitical developments. In a live demonstration he showed impressively: You make it very easy for attackers if you don't actively take care of the security of your own IT.

For example, without complex insider knowledge, he procured himself Access to a webcam. He also showed an example of why the human factor is always the weakest link in any security chain: he started one Telephone call with the official number of an administration, so that he could have posed as an administrative employee to the person called. It would probably be easy to obtain sensitive information that could be used in a hacking attack.

This example illustrates one of our key messages:

There will never be 100 percent security. There's still the human. It is important to raise awareness of this.