How do you achieve digital event security?

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Digital and hybrid event security has been severely neglected in some companies, even though digital elements are becoming increasingly important at events. This already starts with the sale of tickets via internet platforms up to apps or digital controls at the entrance.

As people become increasingly aware of data security, more and more are also starting to ask how secure their data is with the event organizer. Gaining more and more importance in Event Trends 2023 are purely digital events, where data protection must also be guaranteed.

Modern security concepts are therefore not only concerned with the protection of people on site, but also include their data. Such comprehensive event concepts are associated with a high level of effort. In addition, individual security concepts are usually required for each event, which are always adapted to the digital offerings.

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Where are the legal regulations on event security to be found?

For event organizers, the Ordinance on Places of Assembly (Versammlungsstättenverordnung) has been of the utmost importance up to now. It regulates, for example, structural requirements or defines which escape routes are necessary. They primarily relate to the physical protection of the participants.

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So far, there are no binding legal requirements for digital event security. Most of the specifications were made by end customers who provided their guests with various digital products as part of the event.

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Often, the customer took care of data security themselves or in turn contracted their own companies to do it. This often led to some chaos when digital offers were not well coordinated with the executing personnel. To avoid such problems, it makes sense for organizers to also take care of the digital aspects and be able to offer appropriate concepts.

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Apart from the Ordinance on Places of Assembly, which is different for each federal state, there are only indirect legal foundations for digital aspects of events. What happens to the data is now governed by the General Data Protection Regulation. It applies to all digital products related to an event. This also applies to virtual event platforms.

Where do you get up-to-date information on event security?

Security at events is a topic that has been brought into focus primarily by negative incidents. Although there are strict rules, new forms of events also require new security concepts.

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Interested parties can obtain information on the topic at conferences, for example. There are also various platforms for event organizers that also deal with event security.

Event security checklist for digital events

Anyone planning an event with digital content should draw up an event security checklist. That way, there won't be any unpleasant surprises when an inspection is due, for example.

Before the event

Digital traps lurk for organizers even before the event, especially if the event is advertised on the Internet. There are legal aspects to consider here, such as the copyright of images used. Of course, every website must have an imprint.

If products are sold via the site and sensitive data is requested from customers, the GDPR naturally also applies and the website must meet certain security requirements. This includes at least the use of security protocols such as SSL for digital data transfer.

If there are digital products or possibly even WLAN on site, security precautions must also be taken for these. Particularly with open networks, there is a great risk that the connection will not be stable. Organizers should consider using VPN here. This not only provides a stable connection for users, but also a secure one.

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The more digital elements are incorporated into your custom event , the greater the security overhead. Many try to get around this by using third-party tools. But even when using third-party software, the organizer is responsible for the digital security of its participants.

During the event

In some cases, digital security aspects must be taken into account as early as the participant registration phase. This includes, for example, the confirmation of the e-mail address, which makes it easier to filter out so-called no-show participants.

It is also important for event organizers to retain control over digital offerings. One problem is always the passing on, for example, of digitally purchased event tickets to third parties. This can be prevented, for example, by personalized links.

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The digital security concepts required for an event always depend on the scope of the digital content. If participants can interact digitally with each other, it is important that users can be protected from spam messages within the interaction tools.

It needs communication via secure servers, which are of course also reliable. For this purpose, the company usually rents its own servers for the duration of the event. This enables a higher failure protection of digital offers of the event.

If digital offerings are provided, it is important to manage access authorizations. One possibility is to limit sessions. This allows users to use only content intended for them, for example.

After the event

Once the event room has been cleaned, rented equipment returned and everyone has been paid, a classic event is usually over. If there is additional digital content, then it must be clarified what happens with the participants' data.

There is, of course, the possibility that participants agree to further use of the data. This makes sense if an organizer regularly holds similar events and wants to inform participants about new dates, for example.

Alternatively, deleting the data after the event may be an option. However, this is also associated with the effort that the data has actually been deleted.

Why is choosing the right event and video platform crucial ?

Anyone planning an event themselves has many additional legal aspects to consider with digital offers for the event. Even those who hand over this task to a professional event agency should also work through the checklist for themselves.

One way to make things easier is to choose a suitable platform for the digital content. The right platform already includes the necessary concepts for data security such as an SSL connection or the automatic resolution of user data.

Event management providers should always discuss the choice of platform with the customer in advance. This can also open up new possibilities for an event to the customer and provide a more sustainable experience for the participants.

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Attendee management software can help reduce manual tasks.

Outlook for the future

The pandemic has led to an upswing in digital offerings at events. These include not only purely digital events, but also the possibility of contactless access to an event hall, for example via an app.

In the future, the metaverse will become more and more in focus. Organizers must be prepared for the fact that customers will want to use such offers. As a result, organizers should not only stay up to date, but actively use these offers themselves.

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