Giesecke+Devrient: Greater focus on cybersecurity a must as corona pandemic leads to surge in digitisation

The spread of the corona pandemic has shifted large parts of work and communication into digital space within a very short time. It has become obvious: The security of networks and communication infrastructures is more important than ever - especially in light of increasing cyber threats.

In a livestream "What remains of the corona crisis? Secure digital infrastructures in a new cyber world," Ralf Wintergerst, Group CEO Giesecke+Devrient, and Axel Deininger, CEO of secunet AG, took a look at the latest developments. The core topic was the increased acceleration of the digitisation in almost all areas of life induced by the corona crisis. It is responsible for an unbroken growth trend in research and development, an enormous push in the implementation of new technologies in business and private life and, as a consequence, a rapidly growing pressure on digital infrastructures. They face a new quality and quantity of cyber threats.

Digital infrastructures enable digital services and network-based business models. Without them, today's connected world would be unthinkable. The corona pandemic has clearly shown that reliable digital infrastructures are essential for economic and social environments: from home office work to coordination tasks in politics and administration. 

"Due to the Corona crisis the dangers in the digital space has grown," says Ralf Wintergerst. "Cyber attacks have increased significantly, for example in the form of spam e-mails with harmful content or attempted theft of access data from cloud service providers. Especially in these times, cyber security is the decisive success factor for further digitalisation. Companies and public authorities must now invest more heavily in securing their systems in order not to lose their digital sovereignty".

Axel Deininger states the consequences: "We should use the impulses that arise from the corona crisis to see cybersecurity as a driver of innovation and therefore take the necessary steps for a secure digital future now."