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“Cyber wise men” aim to advise government, industry, and the public on security issues

  • Cyber Security Cluster Bonn e.V. association founded
  • Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region becomes European competence region for security
  • Public sector, Federal Armed Forces, research, and industry work together shoulder to shoulder
Cyber Security Cluster Bonn

“Cyber wise men” aim to advise government, industry, and the public on security issues.

By setting up an association, the City of Bonn is bolstering its significance as a location focusing on the issue of security. Cyber Security Cluster Bonn e.V. brings together under a single roof all the security institutions located in the region. The partnership between public sector, Federal Armed Forces, research, and industry should turn the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg region into the European competence center for cybersecurity.

Cyberattacks are mushrooming in Germany. Deutsche Telekom alone registered this year a peak figure of over 15 million attacks on its digital honeypots on the net per day. The security sector is alarmed: Anyone that continues to protect themselves on their own will in future be facing a losing battle against increasingly cunning hackers.

That’s why the German Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik – BSI), the Federal Armed Force’s Cyber and Information Domain Service Headquarters, Deutsche Telekom, the University of Bonn, the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics (FKIE) are already cooperating with the City of Bonn and other partners. These partners include the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, NRW Police, Deutsche Post DHL Group, and other businesses. The new Cyber Security Cluster Bonn e.V. is further improve this cooperation.

Ashok Sridharan, Bonn City Mayor, said: “Bonn is one of Germany’s first cities to recognize the challenges and opportunities opened up by digitalization. That’s why I launched the Digital Bonn initiative. The City already offers the most compelling network for cybersecurity in Germany, if not in Europe. Cyber Security Cluster Bonn e.V. underlines the city’s position in the battle against internet crime.” 

Head of Telekom Security Dirk Backofen stressed: “We aim to help turn Bonn into Europe’s Cybersecurity Valley. The odds are stacked in the attackers’ favor when it comes to cyberdefense. The attacker determines the timing, target, and method. And attacks are achieving hitherto unimaginable dimensions. So we need to set up an army of good guys to combat the myriad bad guys out there. The association is an important step in this direction.”

Dr. Hubertus Hille, managing director of the Bonn/Rhein-Sieg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, one of the initiators and drivers behind the Digital Bonn initiative and the new Cyber Security Cluster, said: "Our persistent work is paying off with the foundation of the association, thus also bolstering our economic region that stands to gain further as an ICT location. The digitalization of our business world will not succeed without the relevant activities in the area of cybersecurity; that’s why today is so important for us all.”

Advice from the cyber wise men for the German government

The members of the Cyber Security Cluster Bonn have set numerous goals for the actual collaboration. The association aims to set up with Germany’s leading security specialists an internationally recognized expert committee in the form of a “committee of wise men.” This committee should provide recommendations for national and EU cybersecurity policy as well as for business and commerce. The committee also intends to publish in future an annual report on the security situation in Germany. 

The association also aims to make its mark technologically and has lots of ideas: A Bonn district could become the shopwindow for secure digital technology. Secure Digital City Bonn will bring to life keyless access systems, smart parking, the issue of digital identity as well as autonomous driving and digital payment. This should pave the way for rolling out technologies onto the mass market.

Other Cyber Security Cluster Bonn work areas include start-up funding, research, training, and events. Once a year, a Cyber Security Tech Summit Europe should attract some 3,000 international industry experts in future to Bonn. With its own award, the association aims to raise public awareness of internet crime and crime prevention.

About Deutsche Telekom: Deutsche Telekom at a glance

DT and Bundeswehr cooperate in cyber defense

DT and Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) cooperate in cyber defense

DT and the German Armed Forces will work more closely together in the future to defend attacks from the Internet. This was agreed today at Deutsche Telekom's Cyber Defense and Security Operation Center in Bonn.

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