Knowledge Transfer
Another important pillar of the project is knowledge transfer. Activities in this area included participation in and presentations at various specialist conferences, specialist lectures, teaching events and a major networking and transfer event, Transfer Day 2024:
Transfer Day
The Transfer Day at Aalen University is an established forum for the transfer of knowledge between science and practice. The tenth edition, entitled ‘Cybersecurity in the Age of Digitalisation – Securing Companies for the Future’, took place on 18 April 2024 in cooperation with the Ostwürttemberg Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The aim was to raise awareness of cybersecurity among companies and support them in implementing measures. Specialist presentations, practical ideas and a live hack were offered. Experts from the BSI and the CyberWuP project, among others, presented practical solutions. The CyberSecurityCheck for SMEs was presented to around 200 participants, mainly representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Specialist Lectures
Various specialist presentations were held both nationally and internationally for the purposes of knowledge transfer and project communication:
KES International: http://www.kesinternational.org/index.php
Several specialist presentations were given at KES conferences as part of the project. Research findings were presented at the sub-conference ‘Smart Digital Futures 2023’ in Rome. Using a structural equation model, the study demonstrated that there is a significant positive correlation between the importance of trade secrets, preventive measures and the perceived threat of industrial espionage.
In the same year, another presentation on the results of a further study was given at the KES main conference in Athens. Information on the current state of equipment and expertise regarding cybersecurity in SMEs was presented, as well as information on the support needs of SMEs. In addition, a structural equation model was presented which shows the significant positive influence of ‘motives for action’ and ‘lack of prevention’ on the threat to SMEs from cybercrime.
Due to the high topicality and importance of the topic ‘Cybersecurity in SMEs’, Prof. Dr. Ralf Härting was invited as a keynote speaker for KES 2024 in Seville. With 45 minutes on the main stage of the conference, the presentation focused on the CyberSecurityCheck for SMEs and offered the publication and discussion of the concept in an international context.
In 2024, the CyberWuP project was presented by Prof. Dr. Christoph Karg and discussed by a panel of experts from the field of computer science. In addition to the possibility of publishing the work, Prof. Dr. Christoph Karg also took advantage of another symposium date.
In addition, the concept was presented in a lecture at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Further invitations to present the concept have been received both nationally and internationally.
Teaching
The contents of the project were integrated into teaching at Aalen University, particularly in the bachelor's degree programme ‘Business Administration for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’ and the master's degree programmes ‘SME Management’ and ‘Business Informatics’. Students dealt with the topics of the project in lectures, seminars, team projects and final theses and wrote research papers. On the transfer day, Bachelor's students were able to present their work and exchange ideas with experts. Outstanding theses are supported and encouraged for publication.
The topics covered in the student projects and final theses were:
- Cyber Security Culture in SME
- Cyber defence in SMEs – motivation analysis
- Gamification in Cybersecurity – Trainig for SME
- Industrial espionage as a threat to SMEs
- Cyber Security and Management 4.0 in SMEs
- Deteminants of Establishing a Successfull Cyber Security Culture in SMEs
- Implementation of a zero trust architecture for an SME
- Organisational adaptation requirements due to increasing cyber threats
- Resilience of employees in SMEs to cyber threats and their motivation
- Industrial espionage and competitive intelligence
- Potential of Zero Trust as a Security Business Model for SMEs
- Cybersecurity in SMEs – Drivers of Cybercrime, Insufficient Equipment and Prevention
- DIN SPEC 27076, NIS 2 guideline
- Authentification
- Statistics on cyber attacks
- Examples of companies targeted by cyber attacks