Apprehension of Online Criminals is 'Tremendous Challenge', German Cyber Official Says
Germany's ZITiS cyber security agency assists in the prevention and countering of cyber crime as attacks become more frequent and sophisticated, according to the agency's director
IsraelDefense
| 21/06/2020
The German authorities are engaged in a comprehensive effort to stay ahead of cyberattacks that are becoming more frequent and sophisticated, one of the country's senior cyber officials said June 18 at an online conference.
"Catching cyber criminals still is a tremendous challenge and will be a challenge for our security authorities," said Wilfried Karl, director of ZITiS, Germany's Central Office for Information Technology in the Security Sector, in a speech at "CybertechLive: Intelligence in the Cyberspace".
Karl said ZITiS assists in the prevention and countering of cyber crime identified by Germany's security agencies, using its technical departments covering big data analysis, methods of cryptanalysis, digital forensics and the technology of lawful interception.
ZITiS pools resources and delivers "cyber related tools, methods, solutions and comprehensive strategies of a technologically high standard to Germany's security authorities," Karl said.
The office cannot develop everything needed on its own, so one part of its task is to establish collaborations with national and international authorities, industries and academia, according to the director.
Karl pointed out that the internet has evolved into "a vital complement that heavily influences our daily life and has become a crucial component for millions of businesses." However, cyberattacks "are getting more frequent, are getting larger in terms of intensity and more sophisticated in terms of multivector attacks, the advancement of technology and the wide use of digital media."
He said it has never been easier to execute distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, noting there are even services offering customers without any technical knowledge the possibility to perform DDoS attacks as a service. It's also possible to hire a whole botnet for malicious campaigns "at a reasonable price".
Karl said that the identity of the attackers is sometimes surprising, such as in the case of Seth Nolan-McDonagh, a teenage cyber geek who according to the BBC almost "broke" the internet with online attacks some years ago, and in the case of schoolkids in the Netherlands who paid for DDoS attacks against their schools in order to avoid taking online exams.
Both cyber security and the prosecution of cyber criminals is all about staying ahead of cyberattacks, and to meet this "tremendous challenge", the Interior Ministry has established an R&D facility to support security agencies like ZITiS as a part of Germany's cyber security strategy, the director said.
Germany's ZITiS cyber security agency assists in the prevention and countering of cyber crime as attacks become more frequent and sophisticated, according to the agency's director
The German authorities are engaged in a comprehensive effort to stay ahead of cyberattacks that are becoming more frequent and sophisticated, one of the country's senior cyber officials said June 18 at an online conference.
"Catching cyber criminals still is a tremendous challenge and will be a challenge for our security authorities," said Wilfried Karl, director of ZITiS, Germany's Central Office for Information Technology in the Security Sector, in a speech at "CybertechLive: Intelligence in the Cyberspace".
Karl said ZITiS assists in the prevention and countering of cyber crime identified by Germany's security agencies, using its technical departments covering big data analysis, methods of cryptanalysis, digital forensics and the technology of lawful interception.
ZITiS pools resources and delivers "cyber related tools, methods, solutions and comprehensive strategies of a technologically high standard to Germany's security authorities," Karl said.
The office cannot develop everything needed on its own, so one part of its task is to establish collaborations with national and international authorities, industries and academia, according to the director.
Karl pointed out that the internet has evolved into "a vital complement that heavily influences our daily life and has become a crucial component for millions of businesses." However, cyberattacks "are getting more frequent, are getting larger in terms of intensity and more sophisticated in terms of multivector attacks, the advancement of technology and the wide use of digital media."
He said it has never been easier to execute distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, noting there are even services offering customers without any technical knowledge the possibility to perform DDoS attacks as a service. It's also possible to hire a whole botnet for malicious campaigns "at a reasonable price".
Karl said that the identity of the attackers is sometimes surprising, such as in the case of Seth Nolan-McDonagh, a teenage cyber geek who according to the BBC almost "broke" the internet with online attacks some years ago, and in the case of schoolkids in the Netherlands who paid for DDoS attacks against their schools in order to avoid taking online exams.
Both cyber security and the prosecution of cyber criminals is all about staying ahead of cyberattacks, and to meet this "tremendous challenge", the Interior Ministry has established an R&D facility to support security agencies like ZITiS as a part of Germany's cyber security strategy, the director said.
