Both business and politics have recognized the importance of innovation. Both are pursuing the goal of shaping a sustainable and sovereign future for Germany through research and innovation. This can be seen in examples such as the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's "Future Strategy for Research and Innovation", which was published in the fall of 2022. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection also wants to strengthen Germany's innovative power with an appropriate innovation policy. Innovation is necessary in Germany because the country cannot rely on raw materials or does not want to for environmental reasons and is considered a high-wage country.

In order to achieve independence in important basic technologies, Germany and the European Union are pursuing the path of freely designing systems and services and retaining freedom of action. The 2021 BMWi focus study "Digital Sovereignty" found that digital sovereignty in the area of cybersecurity requires capabilities across the entire spectrum - from basic research to implementation. This sovereignty can only be achieved if Germany and the EU actively participate in the standardization of standards in order to shape them according to their ideas and needs. Otherwise, German and European companies would be bound by the standards of other countries.

Entering into partnerships

The future belongs to pioneers whose innovations bring economic added value and tangible benefits while proving to be sustainable, fair and ethical. A secure digital life is Wibu-Systems ' contribution to a smarter economy, a respectful digital society and a healthier environment. Two examples illustrate that such innovations are best achieved in cooperation with suitable partners. These can be different departments within a company - but also customers, research institutions or other companies.

Example 1: Blurry Box. The FZI Research Center for Information Technology, the Competence Center for Applied Security Technology (KASTEL) at KIT(Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and Wibu-Systems have jointly developed the Blurry Box protection method. In 2014, they were jointly awarded first place at the 5th German IT Security Prize. Blurry Box cryptography protects software against unauthorized duplication and reverse engineering in a provably secure manner and works according to Kerckhoff's principle: security should be based on the secrecy of the keys and the technicality of the application and not on the secrecy of the process. Traps were also introduced as an essential element, which lead to the protection hardware being locked in the event of hacking attempts.

The IT Security Club at the House of Security in Karlsruhe is dedicated to IT security.

© Wibu-Systems

The FZI carried out practical tests to confirm the theoretically high level of security in practice and developed the application for the international Hackers Contest. KASTEL has provided theoretical proof that the protection method is secure and correct, assuming a certain complexity of the application, i.e. that the protection method does not introduce any errors by modifying the program. Wibu-Systems has turned Blurry Box into a market-ready and successful product by integrating the Blurry Box protection method into its CodeMeter technology. In the aforementioned Hackers Contest with prize money of 50,000 euros, which was held in 2017, none of the 315 participants worldwide were able to completely hack the encrypted competition software.

This success was made possible by the interaction of different partners, who complemented each other by jointly contributing their expertise in theoretical principles, practical implementation and business decisions to the Blurry Box project.

Example 2: House of IT Security and IT Security Club in Karlsruhe

The author: Oliver Winzenried is a board member and co-founder of Wibu-Systems.

© Wibu-Systems

Between 2019 and 2022,Wibu-Systems built two buildings in Karlsruhe, each with a gross floor area of 8,400 m². The first as the new company headquarters, the second as the 'House of IT Security', which is rented out to companies working in the field of IT security. The 'IT Security Club' was set up in this 1,200 m² space with the aim of facilitating an uncomplicated transfer of knowledge between research institutions and companies in the field of IT security and thus driving forward the development of market-ready security innovations. Pleasant working conditions, well thought-out infrastructure, modern building automation and a wide range of services are available so that the players can devote themselves entirely to their ideas. Start-ups, research departments of established companies, public authorities and research institutions involved in IT security can rent workspace in the club, which is much more than just a co-working area. The exchange creates both an innovation network and impulses that lead to new solutions.

The IT Security Club has a total of twelve workstations in closed offices, 26 in private areas, 36 other permanently assigned workstations and 56 flexible workstations that are used without a fixed assignment. There are passive, active and innovation management memberships without a fixed workstation. The former offers access to the Work Café and use of meeting rooms, while the latter is a special added value and unique selling point of the IT Security Club.
An innovation manager supports the search for cooperation partners and the preparation of funding applications at national and EU level in the field of IT security. New ideas and concepts are developed in innovation workshops, marketing concepts for products resulting from research projects are analyzed and the search for pilot users is driven forward. Assistance is provided with the administrative implementation of the funded cooperation projects and with communication with funding bodies and project sponsors.