New Transfer Centre for Cybersecurity in SMEs Launched

The digitization of the German economy is in full swing. Small and medium-sized enterprises, craft businesses and start-ups in particular are facing the challenges of secure digital transformation. To ensure that this development does not lead to new attack surfaces, it is essential to take appropriate cybersecurity measures.

Although the need for these measures is increasingly recognized, many companies often lack the necessary orientation. At this point, the aim of the Transfer Centre for Cybersecurity in SMEs funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) is to support small and medium-sized enterprises in preventing, detecting and reacting to cyberattacks in the future.

“Raising the cybersecurity level of small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany is crucial to minimizing vulnerabilities and remaining competitive in the digital age. In view of the increasing threat situation in the field of cybersecurity, it is indispensable to support SMEs in a needs-based and comprehensible manner, to provide orientation and to increase knowledge in companies. This is exactly what we want to tackle with a strong network of partners”, emphasizes Marc Dönges, Project Leader of the Transfer Centre for Cybersecurity in SMEs.

The long-term goal of the project is to strengthen the cyber resilience of companies through preventive measures. To this end, proactive contact is being established with local companies and knowledge is being imparted via events such as web impulses or orientation talks. Workshops and train-the-trainer formats are also designed to successively promote action competence in the area of cybersecurity in companies. A network of 30 regional contact points, which will be set up in the coming months, will take the project’s content and offerings to the regions nationwide.

In addition, the sub-areas of detection and response are to be covered in the future. To this end, an innovative platform is currently being created that bundles information, assistance and offers on the topic of cybersecurity. Companies that have been the victim of a cybersecurity incident can be quickly and accurately referred to regional support services and qualified IT service providers via this platform.

The SME association “Der Mittelstand BVMW e.V.” is the consortium leader of the project and closely collaborates with its partners: the FZI Research Center for Information Technology, the Institute of Vocational Education and Adult Education of the Leibniz University Hannover as well as the tti Technologietransfer und Innovationsförderung Magdeburg GmbH.

To provide a smooth transition between the offers of the Transfer Office IT Security in SMEs (Transferstelle IT-Sicherheit im Mittelstand (TISiM)), the new Transfer Centre for Cybersecurity in SMEs develops selected offers and expands them as needed. In doing so, the project is supported by various partners, such as “Deutschland sicher im Netz e.V.”, an association on security on the web in Germany.

The SME digital network “Mittelstand-Digital Netzwerk”, the SME digital centers “Mittelstand-Digital Zentren”, and the IT security intiative “Initiative IT-Sicherheit in der Wirtschaft und Digital” now offer comprehensive support for digitization. Small and medium-sized enterprises benefit from concrete practical examples and tailored, vendor-neutral offers for qualification and IT security. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) enables free use and provides financial subsidies.