More transparency and security: "Digital sovereignty" is a top priority in Karlsruhe
The steady growth of internet giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook gives Karlsruhe-based IT security expert Dirk Fox mixed feelings. “Especially in the consumer sector, we are increasingly dependent on providers from the USA,” says the Managing Director of Secorvo Security Consulting GmbH. “And unfortunately we have hardly any control over this”. The fact that the industry leaders place little value on the protection of personal data has also become known through the reports of whistleblowers.
However, Fox does not want to accept the status quo. To ensure that people can move safely and independently in virtual worlds in future, the “Digital Sovereignty” working group of the karlsruhe.digital initiative was set up under his chairmanship. “Improving data protection is one of our most important concerns,” emphasizes Fox. “But we also want to sensitize people to the issues of transparency and security when choosing a provider.”
There are renowned Internet service providers in Karlsruhe
According to Fox, people in Germany already have numerous alternatives when it comes to choosing digital services. In Karlsruhe, for example, there is 1&1, a large telecommunications company, and CAS Software AG, a renowned provider of cloud solutions. Making Karlsruhe more visible as a digital location when it comes to digital sovereignty is also one of the working group’s primary goals. The networking of individual research institutions and IT companies has already been driven forward in recent years by the high-tech entrepreneur network CyberForum. And a ten-point program to promote “digital sovereignty” has now been published internally.
Pooling expertise in a regional security initiative
For Fox, pooling the expertise available in Karlsruhe is one of the recipes for success in the quest for greater transparency in the handling of personal data. Facilities and institutions such as the Cyberwehr Baden-Württemberg, the Competence Center for Applied Security Technologies (KASTEL) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Competence Center for IT Security (KIS) at the Research Center for Information Technology (FZI), the DIZ I Digital Innovation Center and the Karlsruhe Security Initiative (KA-IT-Si) have joined forces in the IT Security Region Karlsruhe. Public events such as the IT Security Day are regularly organized to inform citizens about the important work of the security region. “Unfortunately, we had to scale back our program somewhat during the coronavirus pandemic,” regrets Fox.
GDPR is a blueprint for other countries
The Karlsruhe expert describes the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which regulates the processing of
personal data in the European Union, as an “important step” on the
path to greater “digital sovereignty”. “This
regulation is already regarded as a blueprint for data protection in other
countries,” emphasizes Fox. In the future, however, it will be the citizens who will be most important