The Current State of ―Information Security Awareness‖ in German SMEs

Abstract

The role of information security in German SMEs is becoming increasingly important. External input plays a key role here, but some of it tends to overwhelm SMEs rather than providing systematic assistance that can be readily implemented. In a project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, an overall scenario for new ways to achieve more sustainable information security (IS) in German SMEs is being developed, one that puts people at the heart of the measure. In addition to a current literature search on the situation in companies, the current state of information security and IS awareness is recorded in the project through a combination of different methods: indepth psychological interviews, an online survey in four pilot companies and security-related competence profiles derived from the German IT-Grundschutz. This article presents some preliminary results published. Keywords—Information security, awareness, human factor, German SMEs, in-depth interviews, survey, competence profiles, security topics, training methods.