Embedded security in turbulent times

The alarm clock app synchronizes with the cloud server, the digital wallet pays for the ticket in the public transportation app, the office door opens via an access control system, and AI helps with finding that bit of key information. Even before we fire up our computers – on a normal working day in the first quarter of the 21st century – we operate within a network of digital processes. If just one of these invisible processes fails, the whole morning grinds to a halt. Digital systems have become an indispensable part of everyday life. Accordingly, we need to be able to trust in the current and future stability of our relationship with this tech.

In fact, the relationship is undergoing huge changes as a result of rapid progress in recent years. The level of momentum that technological development reached in 2025 is already having a profound impact on the economy, public administration, and many areas of our private lives. At the same time, demand is growing to provide all these systems with reliable protection against complex, globally interconnected cyber attacks without violating legal and ethical standards.

Trust remains a fragile commodity. The Edelman Trust Barometer¹ shows how sensitive the public perception of innovation has become and highlights the importance of credible, transparent design of digital systems. The Barometer also reveals that trust increases where there are clear-cut rules in place, robust security structures, and reliable technology.

This scenario presents a major opportunity. Security should no longer be seen as an impediment but as the cornerstone that allows everything else to thrive: economic innovation, social stability, and technological progress. The necessary tools are already available, and in recent years, G+D has built out a position as one of the leading manufacturers of this technology.

This new way of thinking is now evident across all of our business sectors. Where the focus was formerly on physical products, it has since shifted to platforms and ecosystems. Security solutions are integrated into currencies, identities, and data flows right from the start. This process has seen the company evolve from being a manufacturer of security products into an architect of digital security infrastructures. Resilience has become the guiding principle. 

This resilience provides a strong foundation in an era where AI and quantum computing are transforming our world as part of a veritable technology revolution.

A new security culture: engaging with AI and quantum computing

AI enables new insights into the world. Algorithms spot patterns that humans overlook; they learn from data and draw conclusions in seconds where humans would need weeks. AI has recently even started conversing with us. But as AI intervenes ever deeper into our processes, the question as to how we can trust it becomes increasingly urgent. AI is therefore very much a double-edged sword when it comes to security. 

G+D subsidiary secunet provides a specific example of how the power of AI can be harnessed effectively in a trusted environment. Working with partners Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and NVIDIA, secunet has developed an AI platform that can be deployed in highly sensitive sectors, including public authorities, research facilities, and companies with particularly stringent security requirements. The system is designed to work without an Internet connection. The data never leaves the controlled space; it is processed in a protected environment isolated from other devices and networks. At the same time, the platform provides the full performance of state-of-the-art GPU clusters for the purpose of training complex AI models. It represents a rare paradox in the digital world: maximum security with maximum flexibility.

For public institutions, this unlocks new options and opportunities, allowing them to use AI without jeopardizing compliance. Importantly, they retain control over their own data. That is a crucial strategic advantage in an era where data sovereignty equates to political sovereignty.

Post-quantum cryptography: security beyond tomorrow

Progress sometimes erodes both old and current certainties. Quantum computers are definitely a case in point. Housed in laboratories, they operate in sterile rooms at temperatures close to absolute zero. Despite the complexity, initial applications are exploring the extent to which quantum computers can offer a significant advantage.It is already apparent that they have the potential to reshape the basic principles of today’s digital security in the future. Cryptography as we know it is based on mathematical problems that even today’s supercomputers cannot solve within a human lifetime. 

Quantum computers, however, will not only be able to solve such problems, but also to do it at great speed, possibly only needing a few minutes in some cases. Many things that are considered secure today – bank transactions, digital identities, encrypted communication – could one day be rendered vulnerable despite being protected by strong algorithms. Security therefore has to look beyond our present horizon and extend it further out. 

In conjunction with partners such as Bundesdruckerei, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), and Infineon, that is precisely how G+D is responding to the challenge around ID cards and other official documents that are designed to be valid for ten years. The bodies that issue them today need to be equipped for future threats, with decryption using quantum computing being one such threat. 

To address this problem, G+D and Bundesdruckerei developed a technical foundation in 2025 that is unique worldwide. This proof of concept is the first functional implementation of an ID card that combines traditional cryptography with post-quantum algorithms. An EU roadmap envisages implementation for high-risk critical cases by 2030; German ID cards will be migrated in two phases. The technical effort involved is huge, since post-quantum algorithms need more processing power and memory. G+D has implemented this on the ID card chip in a resource-efficient manner and in accordance with new security requirements for side-channel resistance. This enables the chips to remain secure even if attackers try to deduce secret keys from power consumption or timing data. Infineon provided chips featuring a new design specifically for this purpose.

Demonstrating feasibility in this way also provides Veridos with a basis for applying the findings to the ongoing development of international travel documents and meeting standardization requirements for global interoperability. 

The real-world impact of this pioneering technology will become apparent in a few years when we travel with our new ID cards, use digital government services, or verify our identity when opening a bank account. It is precisely these long-term identity processes that need to be protected today in order to remain viable in a post-quantum world. A quantum-proof ID card creates that basis.

Smart security: AI in the fight against digital fraud

Alongside these long-term developments, fraud is already an extremely urgent issue, and one where literally every millisecond counts. Billions of digital transactions are continuously checked, authorized, and sometimes rejected. The crucial question is whether the data is genuine or has been tampered with.

Payment transactions are the lifeblood of modern economies but also a vulnerable point. Attackers use bots to test hundreds of thousands of card numbers, compromise accounts, and overload systems, all in fractions of a second. This method involves automatically testing entire number ranges used by a bank (Bank Identification Numbers). These BIN attacks cost billions in losses and are so subtle that they often slip past traditional fraud detection systems.

In response, G+D Netcetera has developed a form of fraud prevention that is proactive rather than reactive. BIN Attack Score analyzes transactions in real time and in doing so recognizes not only whether a single transaction is suspicious but also whether a sequence of transactions reveals a pattern that indicates an attack. The underlying technology is machine learning: the system observes, compares, and self-corrects. Every detected attack improves protection for the next customer.

Previously, AI-supported fraud detection often threw up false positives. Today’s smarter control means that security becomes more invisible. Customers experience smooth payments and don’t even notice the AI infrastructure at work in the background. This type of silent security is becoming standard in a world that demands both speed and protection. Using AI in the financial industry requires a finely judged balance between freedom and control, between customer needs and the banks’ need for compliance. This is a fundamental issue about having trust in digital processes that we can no longer see. If AI is tasked with deciding whether a payment is suspicious or not, we need to be sure it is working correctly.

The digital euro: money that creates trust

Few things reflect the shift in trust as immediately as money. For centuries – and indeed millennia – it has symbolized state sovereignty and social agreement. Now, the act of payment itself is undergoing a transformation. Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are state-guaranteed digital currencies that offer a level of security, availability, and acceptance that is comparable to cash. 

The European Central Bank (ECB) recently signed a framework agreement with G+D and partners Nexi and Capgemini for the provision of the offline function of the digital euro. The development process includes designing, defining, and implementing components and integrating them into the architecture of the digital euro.

The aim is to make payments possible even in environments without an Internet connection or electricity supply, such as in regions with unstable infrastructure. The system stores a credit balance locally on users’ smartcards, smartphones, or compatible devices and handles transactions directly between devices. It therefore offers cash-like privacy, as banks, payment providers and central banks are unable to record payment details.

CBDCs are the digital equivalent of cash as we know and use it: private, universal, inclusive, and resilient. For CBDCs to be fully accepted, they need to provide the same feeling of reliability as a coin in your hand.

G+D has been shaping the lifecycle of money for decades, from banknotes and security threads to payment cards, mobile wallets, and digital currencies. We produce several billion banknotes a year at locations worldwide – Gmund am Tegernsee, Leipzig, Königstein, and Malaysia – thus confirming our leading role in the global cash supply chain.

An interconnected world, secure systems: eSIM as the new backbone of digital life

Connectivity is the central motif of our age. Billions of devices communicate, exchange data, and make decisions. Sensors control energy flows, cars send telemetry, machines order replacement parts before they fail. This invisible network has made our daily life more efficient – but also more prone to disruption.

Every new connection provides a new point of attack, every smart device is a potential point of entry. Security in the era of the Internet of Everything is therefore about protecting the network itself, rather than the individual nodes. This requires structures that guarantee the identity, integrity, and control of billions of endpoints.

Here again, G+D is playing a key role. GSMA SGP.32, the new global standard for eSIM technology, defines how secure connectivity will work in the future. The eSIM is not merely a replacement for physical SIM cards. It represents the ultimate security module in an interconnected world by embedding authentication directly in the device, enabling remote management and encrypted communication throughout the entire lifecycle.

In 2025, G+D became the first provider in the world to have its eSIM certified to the new standard. What may sound like a technical side note, is in reality a paradigm shift. SGP.32 makes IoT communication not only more efficient but also more resilient. Devices can log into local networks automatically and switch profiles without human intervention. Companies gain control of their fleets without simultaneously losing it to third parties.

A particularly notable example is the integration of G+D technology into an Amazon router that keeps households online via 5G backup connectivity if the landline network fails. This seemingly simple function involves a highly complex interplay of eSIM provision, certificate management, and secure network switching. It is invisible to users but indispensable for trust.

The more interconnected the world becomes, the more important it is for security to be invisible. Nobody wants to deal with authentication all the time. Security needs to be a given – quiet and integrated. The eSIM is a prime example here: miniature technology that stabilizes global data traffic without ever being intrusive.

Global dynamics of trusted technologies

Looking beyond Europe, we can see how highly resilient security technologies are driving social and economic development. Take Angola, for example, where the Casa do Kwanza, one of Africa’s most advanced cash centers, has opened in Luanda. This fully digitalized central hub supports the country’s nationwide cash supply. G+D was heavily involved in developing the project from start to finish – from conception of the building through the IT and security requirements to all the processes for cash handling. G+D provides the technology for efficient, secure, and transparent cash processing that enables scaling, reduces counterfeiting risks, and strengthens the currency’s stability. This example shows that modern security infrastructure is not a luxury reserved for mature economies but an important basis for financial participation and economic resilience.

Elsewhere in Africa, state-of-the-art ID solutions are being introduced. Kenya’s new electronic passport is a particularly impressive example, combining advanced security features with a sophisticated design that reflects Kenya’s heritage and values as a nation. Each component integrated into the passport serves to ensure authenticity and integrity, from secure chip technology to high-quality document production. G+D is supporting this project with technologies that reinforce state sovereignty while giving people a modern, trustworthy identity that facilitates a mobile and secure everyday life.

What links all these developments is the recognition that security is not a response to threats, it is a driver of progress. Each technology wave – AI, quantum computing, digital currencies, IoT – creates new risks. But it also offers the opportunity to rethink security and make it more proactive and robust. 

In a word, it comes down to resilience, signifying technology that adapts and can withstand pressure. Such technology meets the need for security and also enables trust based on transparency, thereby creating a solid foundation for progress. G+D is an architect of this trust, which underpins the entire edifice.

Published: 02/04/2026