Mascagni 2020 Award, Il Resto del Carlino talks about us with the interview to our CEO

A task force ready to help companies defending against cybercrime attacks, while offering solutions to streamline the passage of information within organizations. FTP is based in Formigine, 20 years old, is now a leader in IT consulting thanks to the experience gained alongside the most established industrial realities of the Motor Valley of Modena, and also active in the fields of ceramics, agriculture, communication.

Stefano Talami, chief executive officer of FTP, can give examples of what you propose to companies?

“Our mission is to support the customer in the management of daily activities, offering solutions and projects key in hand: optimize, for example, networking with a company headquarters located elsewhere, or manage sales staff around Italy or travelling around the world, or implement security systems with the aim of protecting the data of companies”.

How do you defend a company against cyber-attacks?

“A good defence must be infrastructure, but it must also be about the processes and training of personnel. We, for example, simulate hacker attacks to test the company’s defensive capability, to understand how vulnerable it is, to find weaknesses: a practice comparable to a medical check-up.”

What are the targets of external attacks?

“On the one hand there are raids aimed at ‘stealing’ sensitive data and industrial projects. On the other hand, attacks that block or weaken computer projects until a ransom is paid, demands that can be even millionaires”.

Italy seems to be lagging behind on this front.

“For years, we have been raising awareness among companies about the issue, warning them that a tsunami would soon be unleashed. As I said, the challenge is to be prepared not only from an information technology point of view, but also at the process and staff training level.”

Can you give an example?

“Phishing emails are very dangerous. Raising awareness of staff’s recognition of ‘malicious data’, malware, can be decisive for the future of companies. As if I want to exchange data that concerns the creative sector by sharing it maybe on a cloud, where everyone can easily access: risk of identifying a functional mode, but likely to be violated. Maybe a couple of more steps are enough to ensure the same accessibility, but with greater protection of that data.”

Another front you work on is the managed service, the proper management of computer systems.

“Good IT management is not just for large companies. All companies can use a number of effective methods. When we talk to customers, we actually come across very fragmented, layered, where different departments struggle to talk to each other. We enable companies to have a systemic vision, as a whole of internal processes.”

Looking ahead, what are the areas you still want to develop?

“The goal is to accompany and support more and more the industrial sector and the world of small and medium-sized enterprises, struggling with the opportunities of 4.0 technologies that make processes more and more ‘smart’. For example, together with prestigious partners, we collaborated with the University of Verona to bring it closer to the business world through the ‘ICE Lab’ project, a laboratory that simulates the distribution lines of an industrial environment. It is an example of a facility connected to its virtual simulation twin, to which FTP has contributed by creating a secure, flexible network infrastructure and properly training the laboratory team.”