On 15 and 16 September 2025, Cologne’s RheinEnergieSTADION once again became the epicentre of IT security. The Internet Security Days (ISD) brought together experts from business, politics and academia to debate the most pressing threats and the most innovative defence mechanisms of our time.

A Year Dedicated to Email Security: The Partnership with the BSI

One of the key themes of this year’s ISD was email security. In close cooperation with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the “Year of Email Security” – which eco played a key role in shaping – was brought into the spotlight.

Email remains the backbone of business communication, but it also remains the primary gateway for cyberattacks. Caroline Krohn (BSI) opened the main conference day with her presentation on the campaign “Your Emails, Your Digital Home”. The key message was clear: technical protective measures and a new security culture must go hand in hand in order to effectively prevent identity theft and espionage.

The Deep Dive: Workshop Day on Secure Email

A particular highlight of ISD 2025 was the dedicated workshop day on email security. Here, theory was translated into practice. In intensive sessions, participants explored how companies can secure their communication channels through the consistent implementation of modern standards.

The focus was not only on the technical implementation of email authentication and encryption standards – namely SPF, DKIM, DMARC, DNSSEC and DANE – but also on the liability and data protection consequences that inadequate securing of corporate communications can carry under current case law. The programme concluded with a behind-the-scenes look at a global player. Osram GmbH shared valuable insights from implementation within a corporate environment and spoke openly about the challenges and best practices relating to the global rollout strategy for security standards.

This holistic workshop approach – ranging from European strategy and legal frameworks to practical implementation in SMEs and large corporations – demonstrated that standards are no longer merely a “nice-to-have”, but instead form the basis for a resilient digital infrastructure.

Infrastructure and Resilience: Further Key Areas

In addition to email security, two further pillars shaped the programme:

Security of digital infrastructures: Daniel Sieveke, CIO of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, emphasised the need for a holistic approach to public sector modernisation. Experts also discussed the hardening of data centres and cloud services against physical and digital disruptions.

Cyber resilience: This programme was dedicated to the fight against ransomware and deepfakes. Which strategies show the most promise, and how can strong cyber resilience be built sustainably? Particularly compelling were the outlooks on quantum technology and its impact on future encryption methods, as well as the security of connected vehicles.

Networking in a Unique Atmosphere

Away from the specialist presentations, the Security Night powered by F5 provided the ideal setting for networking. Another highlight was the exclusive stadium tour, which gave participants a behind-the-scenes look at the arena and rounded off the ISD 2025 experience.

Conclusion: ISD 2025 demonstrated that effective cybersecurity can only be achieved through cooperation – as impressively evidenced by the successful collaboration with the BSI. eco would like to thank all participants and partners (including F5, AirIT Systems, G Data, Huawei and Myra) for the valuable exchange.