On behalf of IT security

Micha Pfisterer is a man of conviction. The Managing Director of Ext-Com IT GmbH founded his first company at the age of 16 and has been campaigning for better IT for his customers ever since. The expert believes that SMEs in particular have some catching up to do. As a committee member, he is involved in the quality assurance and further development of the independent security standard Unified Security Cert+.

As an IT service provider in Munich and the surrounding area, Ext-Com and its team look after medium-sized customers such as law firms and workshops as well as larger companies and production facilities. Micha Pfisterer has been active in the region for a long time: at the age of 16, under parental guardianship, he registered his first business and entered the world of IT. Since then, he has got to know a wide range of companies and realises: ‘IT security is practically non-existent in many small and medium-sized companies.’

IT security challenges companies and service providers

Increasingly complex IT infrastructures and the rising number of cyberattacks on companies mean that IT security is also becoming - or should be - more multifaceted and omnipresent. The need for IT system houses to constantly train and adapt is clear. However, many companies lack an understanding of the dynamics of this area.

Pfisterer summarises the challenge: ‘Every euro that goes into it is considered wasted because there is no clear countervalue, nothing that can be grasped. And even if there is an attack, I first have to be able to assess what IT has achieved. There is too little expertise and therefore too little capital investment.’

Managing Director Micha Pfisterer from Ext-Com IT

‘Cert+ summarises what is state of the art for IT security.’
Micha Pfisterer, Managing Director Ext-Com GmbH

Cert+ provides orientation in practice

In response to this challenge, Securepoint developed Unified Security Cert+, a uniform standard that enables the comprehensive auditing of IT security structures using a practical catalogue of measures. The clear requirements ensure transparency: the respective security status of a company can be reflected in the form of clear categories and necessary measures to increase the level of protection become visible.

As a member of the Cert+ committee, Micha Pfisterer not only applies the standard in practice, but also contributes to the training content for Cert+ auditors, engineers and experts. ‘This is a good exchange that Securepoint has initiated. The committee brings together IT experts from different sectors, regions and company sizes. This ensures that Cert+ can be considered the standard for everyone.’

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Further information about IT security with Cert+, auditing and the community.

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IT needs service

Ext-Com and Securepoint have been partners since Micha Pfisterer took over a customer with a Securepoint firewall. This brought him into contact with this manufacturer, which he had never heard of before, and he found solutions that convinced him. He now relies on Securepoint products in over 130 cases.

‘The UTM firewall is well designed and doesn't overwhelm you, I liked that straight away. The decisive factor for the intensive partnership was the personal support provided by the field service and support team,’ says Pfisterer, explaining the collaboration.

He also emphasises the importance of service and support in the area of IT security in other areas. ‘The fact that the entire IT landscape is becoming increasingly networked and complex means that there are always new interfaces, tools and applications. And this expands the possible range of attacks every time. The sector is constantly evolving. If someone has not dealt with IT security for six or nine months, they are practically out of the subject. It's not just about new threats, but also about new opportunities, for example when enterprise solutions are further developed for SMEs.’

In order to be able to appropriately secure a complex construct such as a grown IT infrastructure, an inventory and assessment of the current status is necessary. Unified Security Cert+ helps with this by providing clear guidelines. ‘For many IT professionals, it is simply a guide that summarises what is state of the art and contains many aspects that you might not have thought of at first. And it's a really good way of showing companies where they stand,’ says Pfisterer.

Depending on the status of IT security, audited systems are awarded bronze, silver or gold status. When asked whether he himself would have gold status with Ext-Com, Pfisterer laughs and says: ‘Probably not, but it's not necessarily the goal. Cert+ takes into account areas that are not relevant for every company. Selecting and implementing the relevant measures is then the task of the company and its supporting system house.’

With Cert+, Ext-Com offers customers maximum security and competent service. Unified Security Cert+ is product-independent and manufacturer-independent. Anyone who completes the training can graduate as an auditor, engineer or certified expert.