Cybersecurity as an integral component of digitalisation

The digitalisation of public services brings with it numerous challenges. Outdated IT systems, increasing security risks, regulatory hurdles and a lack of employee awareness lead to security gaps and information security incidents. ‘The biggest challenge is to make decision-makers and employees aware of the relevance of the topic and thus promote the acceptance and success of the digital transformation,’ says Silas Borgmeier from AWARE7.

AWARE7 GmbH's mission is to ensure that every company, regardless of its size or sector, including public administrations, is optimally equipped to deal with information security incidents.

Raising awareness of threat scenarios

Founded in 2018, the Gelsenkirchen-based company develops technologies to increase the level of IT security and uses penetration tests to identify security gaps in digital components. Consultancy services include setting up information security management systems (ISMS) in accordance with ISO 27001, providing external information security officers and achieving NIS2 compliance. One contribution is to sensitise the administration to current threat scenarios through practical and tangible cybersecurity training and to promote this with innovative formats.

AWARE7 specialises in awareness measures for employees, which include live hacking shows and an awareness platform for phishing and e-learning. Silas Borgmeier sees these measures as a key factor in fundamentally transforming the administration over the next five years. ‘With our awareness measures, we are encouraging a rethink in the context of information security. Our phishing simulations are particularly promising. Through realistic tests and continuous training, we make employees a critical and vigilant part of IT security. In this way, we can not only improve the defence against cyberattacks, but also create a culture in which cybersecurity* is an integral part of the organisational structure,’ says Silas Borgmeier from AWARE7.

Investments in training programmes, penetration tests and information security consulting not only create greater security awareness, they also increase the resilience of the entire organisation. At the same time, close cooperation with partners is an essential step in modernising existing IT structures. The aim here is to optimise the technology and employees against attacks. ‘Cybersecurity should be an integral part of digitalisation,’ says Borgmeier.