About Sicherheits-Berater

Sicherheits-Berater

The Sicherheits-Berater is a German information service for corporate security, published by the TeMedia Verlags GmbH of Bonn. Founded on September 2, 1974, it is one of the oldest German-language specialist media on all topics of operational and official security, appearing twice a month with twenty-two issues a year. With a focus on practical, benefit-oriented specialist knowledge, it serves decision-makers with security responsibility across all industries and public administration in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the border regions, covering site security, fire protection, IT security, data protection, data centers, control centers, property security, and security services.

Overview

The Sicherheits-Berater appears twenty-two times a year, as a compact information service rather than a glossy magazine. Its editorial concept puts the utility of the information first: the communication of specialist knowledge with practical relevance, information for secure business operations, and news from the security industry. The topics span the full range of corporate security: site and property security, fire protection, IT and information security, data protection, data centers, control centers, and security services, with each issue delivering concentrated, actionable content.

The readers are predominantly decision-makers with security responsibility: security managers, facility managers, IT security officers, and executives in industry, trade, and services, as well as public administration in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the border regions. As a classic circulation copy (Umlaufblatt) with up to eight co-readers per copy, the Sicherheits-Berater reaches a readership across all areas of corporate security with its print and online editions. The sold circulation is around one thousand copies, a figure that reflects the title's position as a high-value niche medium rather than a mass publication, with each copy working hard inside subscriber organizations.

The editorial content is produced by consultants of the Von zur Mühlen'sche Sicherheitsberatung (VZM), experts in business security, security technology, information technology, electrical engineering, communications engineering, law, criminology, business administration, and architecture. The emphasis is on realistic, independent, solution-oriented presentations that can actually be implemented in working practice, drawing on deep process knowledge from daily consulting work. This practitioner authorship is the title's distinguishing feature: its writers advise companies on security every day.

History

The Sicherheits-Berater was founded on September 2, 1974, by Rainer von zur Mühlen, appearing twice a month from the start. The TeMedia Verlags GmbH has published the information service since 1999, with Rainer von zur Mühlen and Peter Stürmann as publishers. In 2024 the title celebrated fifty years of publication, with the anniversary issue 17/2024 running to thirty-six pages and reflecting on the title's own history in anecdotal detail. With well over one thousand issues published, it ranks among the oldest German-language specialist media on corporate and official security.

The title's development tracks the evolution of corporate security in Germany: from the physical security of the 1970s through the rise of fire protection and safety engineering, the emergence of IT security and data protection, to today's integrated security concepts spanning cyber and physical domains. The editorial team has grown with the field, drawing on the consulting practice of the von zur Mühlen group and its network of specialists.

In 2024 Dr. Klaus Reckert became the new editor-in-chief, presented in the anniversary issue. An IT and culture journalist with a background at outlets including VDI nachrichten, IT Director, and Behördenspiegel, Reckert is described as particularly digitally minded and tasked with driving the TeMedia Verlag's increasing opening toward online publishing. Since 2008 the publisher has also issued specialist books on security topics, extending the brand beyond the periodical into the professional book market.

Coverage and Content

The subject areas defined by the publisher cover site security, fire protection, IT security, data centers, control centers, property security, and security services. Articles address the secure operation of facilities: organizational security concepts, technical security systems, access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection, and the integration of security technology with building management. Fire protection coverage examines preventive and organizational fire protection, fire detection technology, and the regulatory framework. The subject mix reflects the daily concerns of security managers, from the control room to the perimeter fence.

IT security and data protection form a growing pillar: information security management, data-center security, and the intersection of cyber and physical security. Control-center topics address the operation of security control rooms and the coordination of security services. The news sections report on the security industry: company developments, product innovations, association activities, and regulatory changes affecting corporate security. The coverage reflects the convergence of the security disciplines, with physical and IT security increasingly treated as one integrated field and the title covering both sides of the convergence.

The editorial approach emphasizes independence and practicality: the consultants who write for the title draw on their daily advisory work, and the publisher stresses that editorial and advertising content are published strictly separately. The benefit orientation means that articles aim to give security managers actionable guidance for their own organizations, not product promotion dressed as journalism.

Organization and Ownership

The Sicherheits-Berater is published by the TeMedia Verlags GmbH, Alte Heerstrasse 1, 53121 Bonn. The publishers are Rainer A. H. von zur Mühlen and Peter Stürmann, with Stürmann also serving in the publishing management. The editor-in-chief is Dr. Klaus Reckert. The TeMedia Verlag is a company of the von zur Mühlen group, which also includes the SIMEDIA Akademie GmbH, a provider of seminars, forums, and certificate courses in all areas of security, and the consulting firm whose practitioners write for the title.

The business model is the specialist information-service standard: paid subscriptions from companies and public institutions, with the circulation-copy model multiplying the readership within subscriber organizations. Advertising from security-technology manufacturers and service providers supplements subscription revenue, and the publisher's book program and the SIMEDIA academy's training business extend the brand's commercial base. The publisher's media data presents package prices for print, online, and email advertising, with standard combination packages already discounted.

Digital Presence

The website sicherheits-berater.de carries the title's digital presence, with an article archive at sicherheits-berater.de/sibarchiv documenting the title's long publishing history. The print ISSN is 0344-8746 and the online ISSN is 2512-4854, reflecting the title's dual print-online existence. The publisher's media data for 2026 presents the print and online advertising offerings, including banner and newsletter products, with editorial and advertising content strictly separated and combination packages for advertisers seeking the title's concentrated decision-maker audience.

The appointment of a digitally minded editor-in-chief in 2024 signaled the publisher's intention to expand online publishing, building on the archive and the website as the digital home of the brand. For a title whose value lies in the utility of its information, the digital archive extends the service character into a searchable knowledge base, and the online edition gives subscribers access beyond the print rhythm.

Fifty Years of Corporate Security Intelligence

The Sicherheits-Berater has accompanied German corporate security for half a century: from its founding in 1974 to its fiftieth anniversary in 2024, it has served the decision-makers responsible for the security of companies and public institutions. A twice-monthly information service written by practicing security consultants, published by a Bonn specialist publisher within the von zur Mühlen group, it remains the German-language reference for operational security knowledge with practical benefit, and its second half-century has begun under a digitally minded editor-in-chief focused on expanding the title's online presence.