Last week, the time had come: We were finally able to welcome the members of our Defenders’ Club to Berlin for our first in-person exchange. The goal: joining forces to take the security of our shared service platform VICOS to the next level. In a workshop setting, our club members as well as internal and external security experts pooled their knowledge to anticipate threat scenarios and tailor the scope of future pentests to achieve maximum added value for all members. An innovative milestone that shows: true security today is teamwork.
The mission: Inside the Defenders’ Club.
In times of growing cyber risks, we at Virtimo rely on collective strength. After all, IT security in the critical infrastructure sector has long since ceased to be a task that can be solved in isolation. That is why we launched the Defenders’ Club – an exclusive network in which we pool platform knowledge with the practical experience of our users and the perspective of professional security experts.
Historic setting meets modern cloud security.
In the historic rooms of the Hotel Oderberger, we placed our focus on the technical architecture of VICOS as well as the business processes of market communication. Together, we examined the platform and processes in detail to anticipate threat scenarios and tailor the scope of future pentests to provide maximum value for all members. One thing quickly became clear: Such on-site in-person exchange allows for a dynamic to develop that goes far beyond purely digital collaboration.
We launched the Defenders’ Club initiative at Virtimo, but it is even better to see how strong the security awareness actually is among our clients. It is impressive to witness everyone here pulling in the same direction to actively drive IT security forward.
Anda Maloku
Sales | Virtimo AG
Expertise from three perspectives.
Why does this community approach work so well? Because it combines three crucial perspectives: We at Virtimo contribute deep knowledge of the platform, our clients provide their years of practical experience, and external experts like Nils Milchert [Spike Reply] add the viewpoint of a professional attacker. The result: We can dive much deeper into the details than would be possible with fragmented individual tests.
Through cooperation with many different participants, we are now getting much more depth into our pentests. We can consider aspects that we would normally not be able to consider due to time constraints. Through the club, we can learn from each other and cover a much broader range, as well.
Mladen Terzic
Team lead IT operations | Open Grid Europe GmbH
A club in Virtimo style.
What particularly pleased us: the feedback we received on the style of collaboration. Despite all the technical depth, the Defenders’ Club is meant to also be a place where cooperation is fun.
It doesn’t feel at all like clients and service providers coming together. This high level of transparency and cooperative collaboration on a level field is typical for Virtimo – but overall very unusual.
Martin Höner
IT management | GASCADE Gastransport GmbH
What’s next?
The insights gained are now flowing directly into our security strategies. In the future, we want to continue using the exclusive Defenders’ Club setting to collaborate on creating the “toughest door in the digital world.” Because one thing is clear: Absolute security does not exist – but in this group, we can ensure getting as close as possible to this goal together.
Do you have any questions about the Defenders' Club?
Your contact person at Virtimo.
Dirk Breitkreuz
Board Member
Virtimo AG
