IT security insights: IT security is system-relevant

Kay, Chapter Head Trust Center & ID Operations, is looking for new employees for his team. The range of topics is extremely varied. In the following interview, you can find out why the work is highly relevant for society as a whole and, consequently, is system-relevant.

Trust Center solutions can be found in all areas of business and social life.

Kay, you are Chapter Head of Trust Center & ID Operations at Deutsche Telekom Security GmbH. What are your responsibilities?

Kay: My team and I are responsible for the operation of highly secure services and solutions that we offer in our data centers. We operate our own identity & trust center solutions and also monitor IT applications that customers outsource to us.

What interesting projects are you and your team currently working on?

Kay: We offer services for large businesses, small and medium-sized businesses, as well as authorities. Not only that, we are probably the only unit at Deutsche Telekom Security to offer services directly to the end user. For example, an end user can request server certificates from us for their personal homepage or a club that requires an SSL certificate for their website. Or signature cards with which you can digitally sign documents in a legally binding and legally compliant manner. This is not only relevant for lawyers or notaries; it is also relevant for waste management and other industries. Nowadays, the disposal of special/hazardous waste is digitally tracked and recorded - and, each time the waste is handed over (to the truck driver for instance), a digital signature must be provided. Every person involved in this process needs a digital signature card that we produce and monitor.

Anyone working in a healing profession also usually requires an ID and signature card (ID card for health care professionals - "HBA"). Licensed doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and psychotherapists who belong to a chamber have a digital ID card for health care professionals that they can show on site instead of a paper document or can use to provide a signature in order to verify their identity. Professions that do not belong to a chamber such as physiotherapists, midwives, geriatric nurses, paramedics, etc. will also be added to this digital signature system in the future. When it comes to securely digitalizing the healthcare industry, our team ensures that the technical infrastructure for HBAs and similar cards is in place. We operate the web portals for the registration, provide support to certification authorities, and ensure personalization of the cards.

You have advertised jobs for exactly these projects. Who are you looking for? What do future colleagues need to bring to the table?

Kay:We are currently looking forSecurity Operations Managers, IT Security Engineers, IT Security Architects, and IT Admins for the department at our locations in Netphen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, and Leipzig. Candidates should enjoy working in the field of IT and security because only those who have a passion for security topics (and I also include data protection here) can create solutions for our customers which generate trust.

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#6 Juan: Protecting people's lives with IT security

What about further development and career prospects?

Kay: Anyone who is good at their job and enhances their skills can really develop themselves further at our company. You don't need to have studied the field in question. I also started with the IT skills I learned at school. I constantly enhanced my skills through further training and by obtaining certifications in the fields of workplace system support and end user support. Over the past 20 years, I took on administration, engineering, architecture, and project management tasks before assuming the role of Chapter Head three years ago.
This path is quite conventional: from system administrator to engineering and on to architecture. Due to the specific regulatory and legal requirements, we at the Trust Center train people for almost all roles within a company.

It's not necessary to stay in technical IT, it's also possible to move to project management, consulting, solution management, innovation management, delivery management, and even smart card development. We frequently offer end-to-end solutions, so it's possible to develop further within the Trust Center or, as in my case, move to other units.

IT security, and trust center solutions in particular, are relevant to the system: For example, by securing the networks of energy suppliers or by providing an ID and signature card for activities in the medical professions.

So back to the topic of healing professions. They are system-relevant. Does this mean that the Trust Center is also system-relevant?

Kay: As we support the digital transformation of the healthcare industry, we are system-relevant. But that's not the only reason why. We also secure the networks of energy suppliers. The digital meters also require digital identities and smart chips. For example, communication between the state and the federal states would not be possible without encryption. Some lines or plants in the automotive industry would also come to a halt if we didn't digitally secure the communication.

In daily life, you can find our solutions at the supermarket checkout, railway stations, airports, or even in your own wallet or smartphone.

Does everything always go according to plan? What difficulties have you faced in these projects and how did you resolve them?

Kay: I don't believe in problems or difficulties, I only believe in challenges. In large scale projects such as the digital transformation of the healthcare industry, not only do all four units of the Trust Center work together; we also coordinate with a range of internal and external teams and customers. Of course, everything doesn't always go according to plan. We satisfy conditions and carry out processes in line with the provisions stipulated by the Federal Ministry of Health and agents who are involved here and ensure that everything can be implemented in practice. The telematics infrastructure requires various approvals and certificates and demands a lot of coordination and modifications. This requires a lot of time and resources for analysis, architecture, and checking requirements.

Kay, thank you for the interview and the insights into your everyday work as IT security manager.

Have we sparked your interest? You'll find all current vacanciesat Deutsche Telekom Security GmbH in our job search. We look forward to receiving your application.