T
hey were a startup. Young, bold, successful. And attention to communication in industrial networks. “We
somehow they’re still a startup, albeit as part of the developed industrial security at a time when no one else had it
Phoenix Contact Group. Cyber Security Berlin has on their radar,” says General Manager Kilian Golm. “This has
retained its independence. You notice that immediately when granted us customer relationships, some of which still last to
you knock on their door in Berlin-Adlershof. Or better yet, ring this day. Trust is an existential factor in the security business.”
the bell. Modern facade, cool reception. And then it’s over for Martin Dickopp is one of the people who has been with the
good. Anyone who wants to continue from this point will have company almost from the beginning: “One of the foundations
an escort. of our success was the development of the mGuard products
Because things are not so casual in Richard-Willstätter- and solutions,” the security expert explains. “These hardware
Straße. When it comes to data security and cybercrime, there and software components are practically a mobile firewall.
is no need for it. “Of course we follow the latest cyber attacks Hence the m for mobile. However, these do not intervene in
closely,” Kilian Golm tells us in conversation. The latest victim systems and play an active role, but rather act as an invisible
is a company that is itself active in the field of data security. device in the background to monitor security; in other words,
“But there’s no gloating,” emphasizes the General Manager of we always act in stealth mode.”
the Berlin-based Phoenix Contact subsidiary. “This incident The idea became a success story, the technology
clearly shows us how much the threat of cybercrime has was registered for patents, and their former customer,
increased in the meantime.” Phoenix Contact, took over the startup in 2008. In 2016, the
Berlin-based company was then renamed Phoenix Contact
With m to the breakthrough
The Berlin-based company started out in 2001 as a typical
startup with four employees, located at the innovation
location in Adlershof from the very beginning. It all started
with the idea of making business travelers’ data more secure.
But soon the newcomers got their bearings and devoted their
2008
40
employees
Takeover by Phoenix Contact
2001
Founded as a startup
100s
of security vulnerabilities docu-
mented daily
The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine
UPDATE 4/20
19
à