BSI-President warns of 17,000 pending timebombs in the network
As a mathematician, BSI President Plattner brings a passion for complex problems to Germany's digital defense. This passion is desperately needed: "Cybersecurity is incredibly diverse," she reveals in an interview with ntv. Nerds with a sense for the greater good should help out.
"If you lay a problem before me and say, 'We need a solution here,' it's very hard for me to stay away from that problem," says Claudia Plattner with a smile. With her analytical approach, the diploma mathematician has led the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) since July 2023 and is shaping Germany's fight against cyber threats.
Plattner studied at TU Darmstadt and also in New Orleans. Under the motto "Cyber Nation Germany," she is looking for "Nerds with a sense for the greater good" and emphasizes the need for speed and cooperation: "Cybersecurity is incredibly diverse. It's crazy where you have to look," she says, referring to the 17,000 vulnerable Exchange servers that resemble ticking time bombs.
A particular concern for Plattner is the protection of security researchers. These are experts who deliberately search for vulnerabilities in systems to report and close them. "We would like security researchers to be properly protected in their work," says the BSI President. "Instead of blaming people, say thank you. That would be my plea."
Plattner highlights a successful initiative with the DAX-40 companies, in which all have introduced a "security.txt." This is a standardized method for offering security researchers a secure channel for reporting vulnerabilities. "Every vulnerability that exists will be used against us at some point," warns the Mathematician. Therefore, a coordinated process for closing security vulnerabilities is absolutely necessary.
With Claudia Plattner spoke Frauke Holzmeier and Andreas Laukat. You can listen to the entire interview in the podcast "So techt Deutschland"*.
- Claudia Plattner, the head of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), emphasizes the importance of protecting security researchers, who are often hackers with good intentions, as they help identify and close vulnerabilities in systems.
- Amidst concerns over cybercrime and cyberwar, Plattner calls for speed and cooperation in Germany's fight against cyber threats, highlighting the diverse nature of cybersecurity issues, which can be found in unexpected places, such as the 17,000 vulnerable Exchange servers.
- In her effort to combat cyber threats, Plattner advocates for the involvement of experts in Cloud Computing, as she believes that the digital economy depends on securing data and systems in the cloud.
