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In mid-May 2025, this year’s Cybersecurity Summit took place at the Alter Hafen in Hamburg – a nationwide industry event attended by over 1,000 participants from the business sector, public administration, research and academia. The event focused on current developments in the field of IT security and, in particular, on how organisations can strengthen their cyber resilience.
Mittweida University of Applied Sciences was represented by Professor Ronny Bodach from the Forensics Department, who was invited to take part in a high-profile panel discussion on the topic of ‘Ransomware – Prevention, Detection, Response’. Together with Sandra Heger (Security Officer for Higher Education Institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia), Maria Kober (CISO at Barmer), Janka Kreißl (Dunkelblau), Stefan Pilarczyk (BRL law firm) and Dr Tim Sattler (CISO of Jungheinrich AG), the topic was examined comprehensively from various perspectives.
The discussion centred on the growing threat posed by ransomware attacks and the need for comprehensive response strategies. Ransomware is a type of malicious software (also known as malware) designed to extort a victim by encrypting data or blocking access to a system. It became clear that ransomware is no longer an isolated incident, but an ongoing challenge for businesses, universities and public authorities alike. It is therefore vital to invest early on in prevention and response capabilities – for example, through targeted training for IT staff, the establishment of interdisciplinary crisis teams and regular emergency drills.
Another key focus was the increasing use of artificial intelligence by attackers, which further raises the bar for modern IT security. The paradigm shift towards zero-trust architectures was discussed as a key strategy for the future; these are set to replace traditional perimeter protection with continuous, context-based access management. This approach requires the software to carry out strict verification of all users and devices, regardless of whether they are operating within or outside the network in question.
As well as providing a forum for professional discussion, the summit offered plenty of opportunities to network with partners from the industry – whether they were suppliers or end-users. This opens up valuable new prospects for our university: for instance, we were able to hold initial discussions with potential project partners from industry who can help shape our teaching formats in a more practice-oriented way in future.
Professor Bodach sums up: “The discussions at the summit were not only very enriching in terms of content, but also demonstrate how important it is for us, as a university, to engage in dialogue with business representatives at an early stage. In the field of cybersecurity in particular, threat landscapes and technologies are evolving rapidly – we must take this reality into account and equip our graduates to become part of companies’ cyber resilience.”
Text and images: Prof. Ronny Bodach
