“Entrepreneurial talks” are held regularly at the learning centre in Hauzenberg, which offers the part-time, digitally work-based course in Industrial Engineering – Energy & Logistics. Proven experts focus on a timely topic and share their experiences with the audience.
The event on Tuesday, 24 September was all about “IT security in the cloud”. This varied and informative evening featured talks by Prof. Johann Uhrmann of Landshut University of Applied Sciences and Christian Schreiner from SWS Computersysteme AG.
IT security concerns everyone
Gudrun Donaubauer, first mayoress of the town of Hauzenberg, emphasized the particular relevance of the subject: “IT security plays out on so many levels and is important for us as a town as well as to the whole district.” Klaus Jeggle, deputy head of the district authority of Passau, agreed with her. In the age of digitalization, it is no longer possible to ignore the dangers that lurk online.
Before the main speakers illuminated the topic of IT security in the cloud more closely in their 30-minute talks, University President Prof. Karl Stoffel addressed the audience. He highlighted the implications of security vulnerabilities in the cloud by giving the example of sensitive patient data, which was freely available on the web for years. This was reported in the German and international media just over a week ago.
The cloud and where the biggest dangers lie
Prof. Johann Uhrmann then began the evening’s talks by focusing on the definition of cloud computing. He provided a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of cloud use, ranging from the various service models (IaaS, PaaS and SaaS) to the deployment options (private cloud, public cloud, community cloud, virtual private cloud) and typical attack vectors. Uhrmann concluded that cloud security is a complicated subject that belongs firmly in the hands of IT experts.
In his presentation, Christian Schreiner provided specific examples of how cloud systems are attacked and how users can best protect themselves. As the CEO of SWS Computersysteme AG, the IT expert has been working on IT security for over 32 years. Schreiner stressed that the field of IT security is evolving all the time because, among other factors, the complexity of systems is always increasing. He named the biggest threats as data theft, the paralysis of internet services and reputational damage caused by hacker attacks. His advice for the audience: “Make your employees aware and train them in how to deal with sensitive data.”
Both speakers were available for questions after the talks. Here it emerged that technologies alone cannot guarantee the security of IT applications. As Christian Schreiner stated, the most important factor is the human factor.
Photos: Landshut University of Applied Sciences
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