Press Releases
Cyber Attacks: Public Institutions Increasingly Targeted
ARTEC IT Solutions Cautions Against Sole Reliance on Conventional IT Security Measures
Karben, August 17, 2021 – The recent attack on a district in Saxony-Anhalt, which led to the declaration of a local state of emergency, is unfortunately not an isolated incident. Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting municipalities, cities, and public institutions in Germany. Often, these attacks involve the use of so-called "ransomware" which encrypts files with the intention of extorting money. Although a ransom payment (whose effectiveness is dubious at best) was avoided in the mentioned case, the consequential costs and damages from system downtime, inaccessibility of staff, and potential data losses in such scenarios are often enormous. Sometimes, public life is significantly disrupted – for instance, in the affected district, vehicle registrations were impossible for weeks.
Traditional Protection Mechanisms Often Insufficient
ARTEC IT Solutions, a specialist in data security and data management solutions, warns against relying solely on conventional IT security measures. Traditional defense mechanisms focus on monitoring IT systems and detecting attacks, which, in practice, often succeed only against known methods of attack. However, the most crucial asset – the data itself – is sometimes inadequately protected. Data remains accessible and at risk in the continual race between malware and anti-malware solutions.
EMA Cyber Defense Makes Data Inaccessible to Attacks
ARTEC IT Solutions takes a step beyond traditional protection mechanisms with EMA Cyber Defense. The solution, developed entirely in Germany, ensures a copy of the data is stored in a "data vault" inaccessible to attackers. The data becomes "invisible" and thus not susceptible to cyberattacks. In the event of a ransomware attack, data loss through encryption is prevented. Full productivity and operational readiness can be quickly restored, as needed data can be retrieved in a very short time. EMA Cyber Defense is based on patented encryption processes and can be implemented both on-premises and as a pure cloud service.
Free, Secure Cloud Storage for Public Institutions
To support communities, municipalities, and districts in the fight against cyber attacks, ARTEC IT Solutions now offers public institutions up to 1 TB of free cloud storage in a secure, ARTEC-owned data center. This provides the opportunity to store critical data at a protected location in compliance with GDPR. Interested parties can contact info@artec-it.de for more information or use the contact form on the ARTEC website.
