PMeV – Netzwerk Sichere Kommunikation, the German association and network for critical communications, established a cybersecurity department. The representatives of the PMeV member companies unanimously elected Nico Werner from telent as chairman of the new department.
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The association noted the crucial importance of cybersecurity for safety-critical communications and all member companies with the new department.
"The companies are increasingly focusing their efforts on cybersecurity, both for control centers with regard to 5G and in the direct environment of professional mobile radio (PMR),” said Werner. “However, currently we are still missing special requirements and solutions optimized for our industry sector. We want to change this with the foundation of the new department.”
The association plans to create awareness that secure communications systems for emergency and rescue forces, operators of critical infrastructure and industry are decisive for safeguarding security and providing our society with the necessary services.
"To ensure the security of these communications systems in the future, cybersecurity must have the highest priority both for operators and responsible persons dealing with professional mobile communication,” said PMeV President Bernhard Klinger. “Contributing to and coordinating this work in the interest of critical communications users is our core task.”
Irrespective of the technological platform used in the future to realize networking of facilities and systems, the needs of safety-critical users cannot be met without taking into account cybersecurity requirements. When discussing internet of things (IoT), these safety-critical users differentiate between industrial IoT (IIoT) and life-saving IoT (LSIoT) to express the criticality of the respective application.
Notwithstanding the advantages and performance capacity of professional mobile radio systems, the dangers and threats resulting from a single networked unit or from open hardware or software interfaces, such as USBs and application programming interface (APIs) — if unprotected — must not be underestimated. Such vulnerabilities can be easily used by attackers as gateways to company systems. A holistic and comprehensive security concept also represents the basis for process optimization and resilience.
The PMeV association includes suppliers and users of communications systems for mobile professional applications. Its members include manufacturers, system providers and application houses, as well as network operators and users.
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