Protecting confidential data for the future: Whitepaper explains post-quantum cryptography

Protecting confidential data for the future: Whitepaper explains post-quantum cryptography

by | Apr 22, 2021 | General

Do you know lattice-based cryptographic methods? Or multivariate signatures? If not, then you should look into them, because these and a few other methods are currently on the rise. They belong to the so-called “post-quantum cryptography”. This term covers those crypto methods that protect against the great sword of Damocles that currently threatens cryptology: quantum computers.

A quantum computer uses the effects of quantum physics and thus functions completely differently than a conventional computer. A mature quantum computer could decrypt almost all asymmetric crypto methods currently in use with little effort. Fortunately, the devices of this type available so far are still far from being practically usable. But technological development is advancing, and in just a few years, powerful quantum computers could become a reality, rendering large portions of crypto implementations in use around the world useless overnight. To pre-empt such a digital apocalypse, one should already start working on those crypto methods that cannot be cracked with quantum computers – i.e., post-quantum cryptography.

Unfortunately, the various post-quantum methods are mathematically extremely demanding and thus not easy to understand. cryptovision has therefore made it its business for years to explain the subject in a clear way. In articles and lectures, the company’s employees present their audience with easy-to-understand descriptions of the most important post-quantum methods – based on vivid analogies and illustrated with comic drawings. Among others, the RSA conference in San Francisco and the 44CON hacker conference in London included such a lecture in their program.

Now cryptovision has taken another step in this direction: As of today, a whitepaper on post-quantum cryptography is available for download on the company’s web site. It explains the general post-quantum basics as well as the most important algorithms – including lattice-based crypto methods and multivariate signatures.

Post-quantum cryptography is undoubtedly a challenging topic. With cryptovision’s new whitepaper you will find a good introduction.

Whitepaper “Post-Quanten-Kryptografe” (German): https://www.cryptovision.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Whitepaper_Post_Quantum_Kryptografie_210421.pdf

Atos strengthens its cybersecurity offering thanks to the acquisition of German cryptography specialist cryptovision

Atos strengthens its cybersecurity offering thanks to the acquisition of German cryptography specialist cryptovision

by | Apr 20, 2021 | General

Paris, France and Munich, Germany – April 20, 2021 – Atos today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire cv cryptovision GmbH, a leader in state-of-the-art cryptographic products and solutions for securing digital identities. This acquisition will strengthen Atos’ cybersecurity product lines and boost the company’s business in the public sector and defense market in Europe.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, cryptovision designs, develops and implements cryptography software, security solutions and hardware products. Its unique solutions are made in Germany, certified by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and accredited by the NATO. The company has a proven track-record of successfully addressing organizations’ digital security challenges, in particular those in the public and defense sectors, as well as other sectors with highly demanding regulations and security standards.

The combination of the two companies will enable numerous synergies in their go-to-market approach. Atos will benefit from cryptovision’s strong network of resellers and global technology partnerships in the e-ID markets. cryptovision will benefit from Atos’ trusted relationship with European government customers and the Group’s ability to deliver end-to-end integrated solutions on national and international scale.

“We are delighted to welcome cryptovision to the Atos family and to work together to develop even more effective security solutions that meet growing cybersecurity and privacy needs. cryptovision products complete the existing Atos cybersecurity products portfolio so we will be able to address new projects and customers, both in the German market and internationally. This strategic move further expands Atos’ strategy to strengthen its cybersecurity presence, capabilities and portfolio worldwide.” says Pierre Barnabé, Senior Executive Vice President, Global Head of Big Data & Security at Atos.

“With the now agreed affiliation with Atos, cryptovision benefits in many ways – in particular through the global presence and comprehensive cyber security expertise of an international group. At the same time, cryptovision will be able to expand its technological depth of value creation for its customers,” says Markus Hoffmeister, Founder and CEO of cryptovision.

The transaction is expected to close by end of Q3 2021 and is subject to the approval of the local governance and regulatory bodies of both parties.

About Atos

Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 105,000 employees and annual revenue of over € 11 billion. European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high performance computing, the Group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 71 countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients. Atos operates under the brands Atos and Atos|Syntel. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.

The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space. www.atos.net

Atos contacts

Investor Relations: Gilles Arditti – +33 (0)1 73 26 00 66 – gilles.arditti@atos.net

Global Press Relations: Lucie Duchateau – +33 (0)7 62 85 35 10 – lucie.duchateau@atos.net

Germany Press Relations: Stefan Pieper – +49 178 4686875 – stefan.pieper@atos.net

Stefan Pieper, Tel.: +49 178 4686875, E-Mail: stefan.pieper@atos.net

About cryptovision

cv cryptovision GmbH is one of the leading specialists for modern, user-friendly cryptography and secure electronic identities. With its solutions, over 250 million people world-wide and a multitude of institutions in the digital world protect themselves against hacker attacks, manipulation, misuse of identities and espionage. cryptovision addresses various industries such as public administration, health, auto-motive, finance & insurance, energy or IT. Its customers include countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Ecuador, institutions such as the German Armed Forces, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the city of New York and companies such as E.ON, VW and Allianz

cryptovision contact:

Veronica von Preysing, SVP Marketing – +49 173 308 2298 – veronica.preysing@cryptovision.com

https://atos.net/en/2021/press-release_2021_04_20/cybersecurity-acquisition-cryptovision

 

Hafnium authority hack shows once again: end-to-end encryption is indispensable

Hafnium authority hack shows once again: end-to-end encryption is indispensable

by | Mar 18, 2021 | General

Once again, a security incident has the IT world in a tizzy. This time it is several security holes in the widely used mail server Microsoft Exchange that have triggered the disaster. In Germany alone, at least 10,000 Exchange servers were initially affected. Through the aforementioned security holes, an attacker can gain administrator rights on an Exchange server, which gives him access to all emails processed there. According to press reports, a hacker group from China known as Hafnium is said to have used these vulnerabilities for numerous attacks worldwide. It is not yet clear what damage they caused. Meanwhile, Microsoft has provided security updates that are supposed to fix the problem.

In the meantime, it has become known that hafnium has also attacked at least three federal authorities. However, with reference to the welfare of the state, the federal government is still keeping under wraps which institutions these are and what exactly happened. The choice of words alone, however, suggests a serious threat. After all, the term “welfare of the state” has already been used by the Federal Constitutional Court, which ruled in 2009 that this term was linked to “existential security and secret protection concerns” as well as “information requiring secrecy”.

Regardless of this, the Exchange hack and the Hafnium attacks show once again: it is becoming more and more important to reliably protect emails from unauthorised access. Even if the operator of a mail server does everything right, a security gap in the software used can throw a spanner in the works. For confidential data, email encryption is therefore a must. However, an encryption gateway connected to the server, as is used in many places, is often not sufficient. Because if – as in this case – the attacker has access to the mail server, gateway protection is as good as useless. Instead, end-to-end encryption is necessary, which takes place on the client.

A proven client-based email encryption solution that provides end-to-end security is GreenShield from cryptovision. GreenShield is particularly suitable for public authorities that process VS-NfD data. As one of the few email encryption products on the market, GreenShield has the VS-NfD approval required for this purpose.

When it comes to secure email communication in the public authority environment, you are definitely on the safe side with GreenShield.

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Cryptovision’s partner program opens next level

Cryptovision’s partner program opens next level

by | Jan 28, 2021 | club cv

More than 60 companies have joined cryptovision’s exclusive partner program, club cv, as Members since its launch in June 2020. Covering business areas such as IT Security, Government Identity and IoT, cryptovision’s partner network has completely embraced the concept behind club cv. Now, the next level of engagement is open for business: club cv has officially launched its Partner Levels. These apply to both Volume and Strategy Partners and are available in different tiers.

Partner level companies are our valued resellers, independent soft- and hardware vendors, certified service providers and technology partners, who integrate our products into their solution and vice versa. For current Member level companies, this means that they can get upgraded to Partner Level if the conditions apply.

Also new in January 2021 is the online club cv partner lounge: A protected area for partner to find useful information on upcoming activities, relevant sales forms and contact information. The club cv lounge will be the main platform to find partner-relevant information for both, club cv members and partners. For more information, please visit the club cv website.

 

New name, new look: cv act sc/interface becomes SCinterface

New name, new look: cv act sc/interface becomes SCinterface

by | Jan 18, 2021 | Products

Version 8.0 with support for macOS 11

Just in time for the turn of the year, cv act sc/interface, cryptovision’s proven smartcard middleware, not only got a new name. SCinterface also convinces with new features: The graphical user interface has been fundamentally optimized and the ease of use has been improved throughout thanks to a uniform, more modern design. With the new version 8.0, cryptovision has further expanded the capabilities of SCinterface in response to current market developments. SCinterface customers can now use the full range of middleware use cases with the latest card operating systems NXP JCOP4, Infineon SECORA™ and ATOS CardOS 5.4 & 5.5. With SCinterface 8.0, the current D-TRUST signature and seal cards for qualified signatures can also be used throughout Europe in compliance with eIDAS. Also new in version 8.0 is support for macOS 11 Big Sur, which has only been available since November 2020. This enables a secure and flexible design of BYOD and enterprise IT concepts.

With SCinterface 8.0, two-factor authentication is easily implemented to connect from the home workstation to the corporate network via a virtual private network (VPN) or to use a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). SCinterface 8.0 works unrivaled with all major smart cards on Windows, Linux and macOS.

About SCinterface

SCinterface middleware integrates smartcards and other security tokens as well as virtual and remote credentials into IT environments. SCinterface acts across platforms and supports more than 100 different smartcards, security tokens and profiles on all major operating systems. There are many useful features including biometrics, highly customizable PIN caching for different security levels, Microsoft Virtual Smart Card and remote token support.

SCinterface is used by numerous customers worldwide in a variety of industries. These include German companies Allianz, Signal Iduna and E.ON, Dutch KPN and SwissSign, among others.