As part of its IT Security in Commerce initiative, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action constantly develops new and specific measures that help raise awareness for IT security among businesses, particularly SMEs. In view of the growing importance of IT security as the digital transformation continues, the initiative’s work was greatly expanded from 2019 and the IT Security in the Mittelstand Transfer Office (TISiM) launched.

A special focus is also placed on optimising the regulatory framework and on strengthening the IT security sector at both national and European level. Data on the IT security market is also collected and evaluated at regular intervals in order to identify appropriate measures. Find out more.

Reliable data protection in the cloud

Cloud services are central to the digital transformation of the economy. The Trusted Cloud Platform lists only those cloud services which meet the criteria of the Trusted Cloud Label, i.e. which are trustworthy and meet the requirements for transparency, security, quality and compliance with the law. The label was the result of the work undertaken in the context of the Trusted Cloud technology programme, which was launched in 2010 with the aim to develop innovative and secure cloud computing solutions, particularly for SMEs. The programme ended in 2015. Find out more.

Unified standards for Industrie 4.0

The close networking of technologies and value chains allows for an intensive exchange of data and therefore the creation of more interfaces. This means that unified standards are crucial for Industrie 4.0. You can find out more about this here.

Ensuring that our information and telecommunications technologies are both standardised and interoperable is important not only technologically, but also from a business perspective. Standards offer a competitive edge in global competition to those who develop and enforce them. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action places a strong focus on open standards and interoperability in order to not only guarantee that complex ICT systems function flawlessly, but also in order to make sure that there is unrestricted access to the ICT markets and to fair competition.