• Malte Pollmann, CSO at Utimaco


• 04.02.2022 05:15 pm
#IT #security , Malte Pollmann has been a member of the Utimaco Management Board since 2008 and CEO from 2011 until 2019. He currently holds the position as CSO (Chief Strategy Officer). Previously, he was Product Director and Business Unit Leader at Lycos Europe NV (a Bertelsmann company). With a master’s degree in Physics from the Universities of Paderborn and Kaiserslautern in Germany, Malte also received a general management education at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. In parallel to his work at Utimaco, he also serves on the Supervisory Board of the International School of IT Security – isits AG in Bochum

Over the course of the past two years, companies have been faced with the challenge of advancing digital transformation to accommodate employees working from home during the pandemic. Key to this was managing these newly established network infrastructures and cloud services without compromising on IT security.   Therefore, industry experts are working hard to develop the latest systems to ensure a secure future as we continue a hybrid model of working. 

Let’s take a look at the infrastructures and cloud services that are likely to dominate discussion around security this year.

Internet of Things and 5G

It is expected that this year we’ll have almost 30 billion connected devices, driven by IoT and 5G connectivity. Exemplified in the automotive sector, most vehicles now have some kind of network connectivity, allowing them to have many of the same features found on a smartphone. Additionally, Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication can automate paying in a parking garage, toll road or even a fuel station, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication can allow a vehicle to warn others of accidents and call for help if needed.

Digitalisation advancements that occur in our everyday lives present society with further challenges. They leave us questioning whether a car is really communicating with a fuel station or a bad actor who wants to intercept the payment. Therefore, supply chain security must be enabled over a vehicle’s entire lifecycle to protect it against both current and future threats. 

Cryptocurrencies

In the past year, cryptocurrencies have found increasing numbers of investors and reached record valuations, principally Bitcoin and Ethereum. More so-called neo-brokers are breaking into the market, with the aim of making trading and securing cryptocurrencies as quick and easy as possible.

However, 2021 saw an increase in attacks on crypto exchanges and their investors, such as the $600 million theft from Poly Network in August last year. We will see crypto exchanges increasingly relying on cybersecurity solutions, as the acquisition of Unbound Security by Coinbase has already shown, and a move towards centralised solutions that are needed to secure crypto wallets.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)  

Lastly, while AI and ML systems are being created to identify attackers and malware, attackers use similar technology to automate their attacks and mimic human behaviour. This allows for sophisticated bot networks to bypass the ‘Captcha’ security mechanism and potentially fool the passive biometrics systems that monitor keystrokes and other activity to see if it appears human.

AI can also become the target of an attack by manipulating the data that it uses to make decisions. For example, a cybersecurity system could be given a ‘blindspot’ that would allow attackers through its security with impunity. That is why the European Union (EU), as well as the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), have concerns around the trustworthiness of AI.

Prioritising security 

Over the course of 2022, it is crucial for companies to stay on top of the latest internet security trends. Equally, they must ensure that all established network infrastructures used within the company are kept up to date to bypass vulnerabilities and to ensure that threats are kept to minimum. 

To learn more, visit: https://utimaco.com/