A neighborhood for secure data
Three IT companies from Adlershof protect sensitive data transactions
Only a few metres apart, along the Am Studio road in Adlershof, a trio of independent companies is working on securing data traffic. Rohde & Schwarz SIT, the young consulting team sector red, and the German branch of Zoral Labs are all active in the protection of safety-related infrastructures and sensitive data.
Not long ago, cyber attacks were something seen only in Hollywood thrillers. Now intelligence agencies use computer worms to bring uranium centrifuges to a standstill and wiretap the German chancellor’s mobile phone. Jihadists hijack the US Army’s Twitter and YouTube accounts, while con artists raze online bank accounts.
Are electricity networks, train stations, and computer centres still safe? Who protects industrial machinery and engineering data? – At Rohde & Schwarz SIT, 80 mathematicians, computer specialists, and engineers develop encryption systems. The cryptologists’ flagship technology is the first encoder worldwide to work with a data flow rate of 40 gigabytes per second. Once it is built into the server racks of IT companies and banks, outbound data is turned into mere noise. Only after it’s made its way through the public network, the data is decoded by a second device. Despite the gigantic data transfer rate, the delay caused by encrypting the data is only three microseconds. The 40 Gbit/sec rate is enough to simultaneously stream 1,500 films in HD quality.
Said cryptologists are also working on protecting the IT built in safety-related infrastructures such as railway and electricity networks. They recently showcased the new firewall R&S SITGate which scrutinises every data transfer, letting through only validated and genuine data. The company also offers solutions for the communication of decision-makers. A small device records and encrypts what is being said and transfers this data to smartphones via bluetooth. The data is decrypted when it reaches the device on the receiving end. The company’s spokesman Christian Reschke adds: “We use this technology ourselves when our developers exchange sensitive data between Berlin and Stuttgart.”
Two other IT security specialists are based right next to Rohde & Schwarz SIT: the consulting firm sector red GmbH, and the German branch of Zoral Labs. Sector red’s team of six computer scientists, headed by Patrick Rebstein and Kerstin Vallentin, consult companies from the finance, energy, and public sector. “Before we can implement a solution, we have to analyse industry-specific systems and assess which protection our customer requires,” Rebstein explains. In most cases, an open software, adjusted to meet the requirements of the customer’s systems, forms the basis for individual protection against attacks.
Alan Hambrook and his company Zoral GmbH came to Adlershof in autumn 2014. The experienced founder has established various software companies since 1981, and seeks to establish a research and development branch of Zoral Labs here in Adlershof. The US company combines artificial intelligence (AI), machine-learning, and IT security. It keeps international cyber criminals away from credit card, bank, and stock market exchanges, and secures the internal networks of tech companies composed of thousands of computers and cloud technology. Moreover, Zoral specialises on the meticulous cleaning-up and recovery of computers infested with malware and viruses. The American firm uses its knowledge of AI and continuous, automated analysis to identify the patterns of behaviour of legitimate users. When uninvited guests try to spy on IT systems, their behaviour differs from the majority of regular users and trigger Zoral’s virtual alarm system.
By Peter Trechow for Adlershof Special
www.sit.rohde-schwarz.com
www.sector-red.net
www.zorallabs.com