OpenTalk is the first video conferencing solution to receive the BSI's IT Security Label

f. l. t. r. Joshu Wiebe, Head of Division at the BSI; Peer Heinlein, CEO of OpenTalk, Markus Michels, CEO of OpenTalk; Matthias Intemann, Head of Department at the BSI

Image source: BSI

Berlin, 05.07.2024. The open source video conferencing solution OpenTalk is the first provider to receive the IT Security Label "Video Conferencing Services" from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The BSI has thus confirmed that OpenTalk is committed to fulfilling the security requirements of the new DIN SPEC 27008. Representatives of OpenTalk, a Heinlein Group company, were presented with the award in person on July 4 by Matthias Intemann, Head of Department at the BSI, and Joshu Wiebe, Head of Division at the BSI, at the BSI's official headquarters in Bonn.

The BSI's tried-and-tested IT Security Label was recently introduced for video conferencing services such as OpenTalk. It provides good guidance on the security features of IT products and helps to establish a basic level of security. DIN SPEC 27008, which is decisive for the IT security label, specifies minimum requirements such as the protection of user data, appropriate update and vulnerability management, up-to-date login procedures, secure data center operation, up-to-date encryption technologies as well as transparency and control during the video conference. As part of market surveillance, the BSI checks whether the requirements are being complied with on a random basis (random checks) and without cause (e.g. if vulnerabilities become known) for the entire duration of the label.

Peer Heinlein, CEO of the Heinlein Group and OpenTalk, comments: "We are proud that OpenTalk is the first video conferencing solution ever to receive the BSI's IT Security Label. Consumers and customers can now better assess which provider they want to entrust with their sensitive communication data. OpenTalk has been designed from the outset for consistent security and data protection, which is of the utmost importance to our customers. But with OpenTalk, we also offer a solution that is as secure as it is user-friendly. It promotes productivity and the joy of digital collaboration."

Joshu Wiebe, Head of Division at the BSI, adds: "The IT Security Label creates transparency about the security properties of IT products and IT services. Providers that receive this label have committed to ensuring that their solutions meet basic IT security requirements and are continuously maintained. We are delighted that OpenTalk is the first video conferencing solution to meet the requirements for the IT Security Label and to receive this label."

OpenTalk boasts a wide range of innovative features that enable secure and efficient digital collaboration. These include audit-proof voting, multi-moderator meetings, breakout rooms and a comprehensive dashboard for conference planning. The solution was developed as an open source solution with a modern cloud and container-based IT architecture and combines the Heinlein Group's 30 years of experience in free and secure electronic communication.

For the Heinlein Group, which is behind OpenTalk, this is not the first time it has been awarded an IT Security Label: The email provider mailbox.org, which is operated by Heinlein, also recently received the security label for the second time in a row.

About OpenTalk

OpenTalk is the video conferencing solution for anyone who values digital sovereignty and data protection. OpenTalk can be operated both in our own data center (OnPremise) and on our servers in Germany (SaaS). OpenTalk consistently implements the requirements of the GDPR. OpenTalk is backed by the Heinlein Group with around 30 years of experience in secure communication.

OpenTalk is used, among other things, as a digitally sovereign video conferencing solution for the administration and municipalities in the Free State of Thuringia, where it is used in particular for digital committee work in all specialist areas. The initial project was coordinated by the Thuringian Ministry of Finance and followed the principle of "public money, public code", so the program code was published on OpenCoDE.de. OpenTalk can also be obtained as an OnPrem or SaaS solution from Deutsche Telekom/T-Systems or other partners.