Hamburg: The German IT security specialist gateprotect and the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS) have announced the start of a landmark cooperation focusing on the improvement of IT network security of companies and public institutions by means of innovative technologies. By cooperating in the areas of quality management and testing procedures, common strategies and solutions will be developed for targeted defense against future cyber-attacks.
In the scope of the partnership, current research results of Fraunhofer FOKUS shall be incorporated into the product development process at gateprotect and, as a consequence, into new products. “For gateprotect as a future-oriented mid-sized company, the exchange and regular cooperation with excellent research institutions – such as the Fraunhofer institute FOKUS – is indispensable. Anyone facing worldwide competition regarding innovation and efficiency, like us, definitely need permanent interaction with industry-related research“, gateprotect’s CTO Stephan Ziegler says.
The first results of the cooperation are already at hand, with the next generations of the gateprotect firewall solutions being certified in advance for the IPv6 world, in accordance with the requirements of the internationally recognized IPv6 Forum. After the very successful cooperation in the field of compatibility and interoperability tests for IPv6, the researchers from Fraunhofer FOKUS and the gateprotect development department are now also working together closely in performance tests and in the network simulation as well as in quality management.
“Today, IT security is of crucial importance for the society and economy. The partnership with gateprotect is therefore essential to us since we as a Fraunhofer institute are interested in practical research and the quick transfer of research results and know-how into new innovative products”, Andreas Hoffmann, deputy head at Fraunhofer FOKUS, says.