IT security in Cologne – protection that holds when it matters

Both are necessary, but not sufficient on their own. A conventional virus scanner recognises what is already known; modern attacks deliberately use new or legitimate tools. What also matters: verified backups outside the network, multi-factor authentication, up-to-date systems, a permissions concept and security-aware staff. These are exactly the points we check in the security check.

Three copies of your data, stored on two different types of media, with one copy off-site. In addition, we use immutable backups that cannot be deleted or encrypted even with stolen admin rights. That is the most effective single protection against ransomware.

The NIS2 Directive directly covers mainly larger companies in certain sectors. Many smaller businesses are affected indirectly, however, because clients pass the requirements down their supply chain by contract. We look at your specific situation and implement the measures in a way you can demonstrate to clients and auditors.

That depends almost entirely on preparation, not on the attack. With verified, immutable backups and a documented sequence, we usually get the core systems back within one working day and the complete environment within a few days. Without that preparation, we are talking about one to two weeks – and about which data is lost for good.

That is why we work out this time with you in advance rather than finding it out in an emergency.

With 30 employees you are, as a rule, not directly covered – the threshold is 50 employees or €10 million annual turnover in one of the sectors listed. It can still affect you indirectly: companies that are covered share responsibility for the security of their supply chain and pass the requirements on to their service providers and suppliers.

So if you work for a hospital, an energy supplier or a larger industrial company, the questionnaires will come. We check this with you in one conversation and put the result in writing – which in itself is an answer you can show your client.

Call us. What matters then is the right order: isolate the affected systems rather than restarting them straight away, secure the evidence, contain the damage and only then restore in a controlled way. In parallel, reporting obligations under the GDPR and towards your cyber insurer need to be checked. We guide you through this process and take care of the technical side.

We check critical systems every month with a test restore, and at least once a year we run through a complete recovery. That is the only way to know your actual recovery time. A backup that has never been restored is an assumption – not protection.

Yes. The vast majority of successful attacks begin with an email that someone opened. We run practical awareness sessions using real examples from your industry – short, easy to follow and without finger-wagging. On request, we add simulated phishing campaigns to measure the effect.

With a firewall you pay for two things, and the second is regularly forgotten: the device and the licence for the security features. Without a valid licence, a firewall keeps working but no longer receives new signatures or security updates – it then becomes a risk itself.

The price depends on throughput, number of users and the features you need. A business with fifteen workstations and one line needs a different device from one with two sites and thirty home workers connecting via VPN.

Make sure every quote includes: the device, the licence for the planned term, setup, rule set maintenance and manufacturer support for replacement if the device fails.

Not a single product but a chain. Antivirus alone is not enough, because modern ransomware attacks don't arrive as a known file but through stolen credentials and vulnerabilities that nobody knows about yet.

What actually protects you: separate permissions, so that a compromised account cannot work its way through the entire organisation. Two-factor sign-in. Prompt updates. Detection of unusual behaviour rather than just known malware. And a backup that cannot be deleted from the affected system.

That last point decides the outcome of an emergency. Everything before it reduces the likelihood – the immutable backup determines whether you are back at work in two days or in two weeks.

The ransom is rarely the biggest item. More expensive are the downtime, the recovery, the reporting obligations towards authorities and customers, legal support and the loss of trust among clients.

Work out what a day without working IT costs your business – wages, lost orders, contractual penalties. That figure is the honest yardstick for what prevention may be worth.