Interview: SecuMail protects construction company Krämmel from spam and ransomware

They are also finding their way into the construction industry: Trojans that encrypt data and blackmail companies. But the Krämmel Group has found a way to protect itself from ransomware. The construction company uses SecuMail as a real-time security check in the cloud – for around 300 devices and e-mail addresses

A normal Wednesday morning in a German office: An employee gets a cup of coffee, sits down at his PC and opens a Word file in a colleague’s e-mail. A mistake. The e-mail does not come from the employee, but from a hacker. And he has built a macro script into the file. After opening, an encryption Trojan spreads through the company network, encrypts data, only wants to release it again for a ransom. A horror scenario that is becoming reality in more and more German companies. A threat from which the Krämmel Group, a 200-employee construction company from Wolfratshausen near Munich, wants to protect itself. “A simple virus scanner is no longer enough to defend against today’s threats, which quickly become an existential risk,” says Sebastian Steinbeis, head of IT at Krämmel. “That’s why we opted for SecuMail – a cloud solution from Germany that subjects emails to a security check and thus offers reliable protection against ransomware.”

Protection against sophisticated attack methods

SecuMail protects around 300 devices and e-mail addresses at the Krämmel Group. “To guarantee maximum protection against ransomware, we have developed filters that open files in emails, check them and hold them back in an emergency,” says Product Manager Hannes Wilhelm. In addition, the solution uses two virus scanner engines. “Our service thus offers reliable protection against external attacks on the company.” A real-time check that takes only four seconds per email. Almost as quickly done: the setup of SecuMail. Steinbeis only had to make a configuration change to the domain in order to place the cloud service in front of the existing infrastructure. “The integration of the service into our IT system worked quickly and smoothly,” says Steinbeis.

Construction industry: Threat situation is growing

The automotive industry is one of the pioneers in digitalization. And the construction industry? It jumped on the bandwagon late, but picked up speed all the faster. Whereas construction managers used to walk around the construction site with a clipboard, many now use tablets. Stored on it: construction drawings, plans of the construction site and protocols. It is true that this digitization increases efficiency. “But it has also made the entire industry vulnerable,” says Steinbeis. “Hackers can, for example, tap tender documents or paralyze entire construction sites with an encryption Trojan – similar to what has already happened with hospitals.” Accordingly, it is important to adapt to new attack methods. This is also confirmed by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). “We are currently experiencing the mass dissemination of sophisticated attack methods by organized crime, which until a few months ago were reserved for intelligence service actors,” says BSI President Arne Schönbohm. SecuMail supports companies in protecting themselves against these attacks.

SecuMail filters 38,000 spam messages for the Krämmel Group every month

SecuMail also offers the Krämmel Group protection against spam. “Every month, around 54,000 e-mails are addressed to us. Of these, 38,000 messages are spam, a share of 72 percent,” explains Steinbeis. SecuMail succeeds in taming this flood and filtering almost 100 percent of unwanted messages. Employees work more concentrated and productive as a result. “On average, each employee saves 33 hours of working time per year as a result of this relief,” says Wilhelm, adding a figure of which he is proud: “The number of false positives – i.e. harmless e-mails that our spam filters mistakenly withhold – is only 0.03 percent.” And the IT department at Krämmel also saves time. “Since the solution runs in the cloud, we don’t need any computer capacity or employees on site to take care of maintenance and updates. We enjoy the good feeling: SecuMail is a sure-fire success that takes a lot of the burden off our shoulders,” says Steinbeis. And if a problem does occur, a contact person can be reached quickly. “SecuMail is a local company that is on an equal footing with us. A pleasant and productive cooperation.”

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Source: This interview was conducted on our behalf by the company Wortliga GmbH. Mr. Sebastian Steinbeis, who works for the Krämmel Group, was interviewed.