IT and Cyber Security - Protecting administration

A year before the launch, we won the tender to create the website of the Cybersicherheitsagentur Baden-Württemberg (CSBW) and have since gone through a holistic process: Positioning and brand strategy, corporate design with logo and illustration production, web concept, UX&UI, web development, content editing, go-live!

After an extensive tendering process with negotiation, we were pleased to be awarded the contract. In several rounds, we were able to convince the CSBW team of our vision of a website for a new higher state authority - modern, dynamic, flexible and adaptable like the field of application. Just like the authority, the website is still under construction: Starting with a pilot project, we were able to proceed iteratively, deciding in several stages which content to start with and which to prioritise for further operation. The initial aim was to create a digital business card for the CSBW, a content page with a specially created corporate identity for the website, in order to increase the brand's recognition value. What is special about this project is that, unlike previous relaunches, there is no existing CSBW site that is being recreated, no content that has been migrated - the website is just now coming to life.

CMS Drupal

A clear Drupal backend is available for content management, which facilitates the editors' daily work with the website. A workflow has been established for the CSBW that provides for a two-stage approval process. Content is created in draft form, submitted for approval with e-mail notification and either published, rejected or made available for viewing by the authority management. Two-factor authentication (2FA) ensures the highest security standards when all backend users log in.

Development of the digital branding

We preserve the roots of the CSBW, but give it wings: the basis of the digital branding is formed by existing building blocks from the corporate design of the state administration, such as the colour scheme and the fonts. In addition, we define elements that exclusively strengthen the CSBW brand. These include a separate logo, an independent illustration style and a free design structure. During the design process, we develop a library within the design app that contains all elements in the Atomic Design structure.

We develop exclusive illustrations with and for the CSBW in a uniform style that cover and illustrate a variety of topics and subjects. They can often be used to convey content more accurately than pictures. In addition, animations can also be integrated, which additionally promote the engagement of the users and also communicate processes in a more comprehensible way.

The graphic style should, on the one hand, contribute to the most important brand values and, on the other hand, appeal to the target group. Furthermore, we see the illustrations as an optimal instrument to lighten up the fearful technical topic of "cyber security" for some target groups with the help of lightness within the choice of motifs / sceneries.

For CSBW it was clear: "We want to move away from the often very 'robotic', masculine connotated visual language." - It could already be read out in the tender process: here, "authority" wants to reinvent itself. To be more modern, more open, more accessible, especially for the target group of future employees.

Accessibility

As a state-owned authority, barrier-free use of the website is required by law. With a clear catalogue of measures for the functions used, based on the "Verordnung zur Schaffung barrierefreier Informationstechnik nach dem Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz (Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung - BITV 2.0)", we pay attention to optimal operation through tab navigation and screen readers in the implementation.

Security concept

The decisive factor for us in this project was and is security: How do we prevent the website from being hacked for cyber security and how much does this flagship become a target for attacks?

For us, IT security starts in the application itself: with the modules and also by setting up the forward-looking system architecture. With the switch to the Symfony framework since Drupal 8, basic security measures have been established, which we build on during the development and customising of modules (avoiding SQL injections, preventing cross-site scripting, etc.). Our concept for automated testing allows the further development of the web application without loss of functionality. The most stable security, however, is provided by the perfect interaction between hosting and the application. We coordinated the set-up of the servers with the state authority IT Baden-Württemberg (BITBW) as hoster.

Before going live, a penetration test was carried out by an external service provider, the results of which were very satisfactory.

Go-Live

Afterwards, the pilot project of the website could start. The new authority Cybersicherheitsagentur Baden-Württemberg introduces itself: On the new website, the CSBW now communicates what it stands for, what support it provides, what alerts are currently available, what content is disseminated in press releases and what job advertisements can be published.

We are very happy to be online and to accompany the CSBW in the next steps as well and to further develop the website together.