CybA - Cyber Awareness Demonstrator
Security Awareness for Production-Related SMEs
problem
Cyber incidents have been considered the world's biggest business risk for five years, and the vast majority of attacks target small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The advancing digitalization and the increasing merger of IT and operational technology (OT) are further expanding the attack surface of production-related SMEs. At the same time, these companies often lack the personnel and technical know-how to build up an appropriate level of IT security. Many SMEs do not know their own risk profile and regularly overestimate their actual level of protection. As attackers increasingly shift their focus to humans as the weakest link in the IT security chain, technical protection measures alone are not enough. Existing training approaches address either IT or OT, but rarely cover both areas together in a realistic learning environment.
objective
The aim of the project was to develop a security awareness demonstrator that sustainably sensitises production-related SMEs to cyber threats. In contrast to existing approaches, the demonstrator pursues a holistic approach that combines IT and OT domains in a realistic infrastructure and addresses managers and employees alike. Through live hacking on integrated hardware, concrete attack vectors based on the top 10 ICS threats of the BSI can be experienced immediately, without participants having to bring technical knowledge. The modular design of the demonstrator also enables flexible use at events, training courses and workshops.
Recovery concept
The demonstrator is an integral part of the demonstrator landscape at ZeMA and is regularly used there in training courses, workshops and technology tours of the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Saarbrücken. In addition, it has already been used as part of external training measures of a large Saarland industrial company for the security awareness training of employees. The feedback from the previous deployments as well as the current threat situation continuously feed into the further development of the presented attack scenarios. The demonstrator does not see itself as a one-off awareness-raising measure, but as a recurring element of a sustainable IT security strategy for production-related SMEs.
Duration: 01.01.2023 – 31.12.2024
Funded by: TÜV Saarland Foundation

Contact:
Project management: Christoph Rosenhauer, christoph.rosenhauer@zema.de
Project management: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Georg Frey
Category: Industrial security






