BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th August, 2020) The German government has launched formally launched a cybersecurity agency, the interior ministry said on Tuesday.
"The signing of the constituent document and the appointment of the management gave the start to the Agency for Innovation in Cybersecurity GmbH ("Cyber Agency")," the ministry said in a press release.
The creation of a cybersecurity agency was agreed in a coalition document of the ruling Christian Democratic Union in alliance with the Bavarian Christian Social Union and the Social Democrats from 2018, which itself is part of the Federal government's advanced technology development strategy 2025.
The ministry called the agency's creation a "significant milestone" in protecting citizens, government and the economy in cyberspace.
"The central task of the cyber agency is to encourage the development of innovative cybersecurity technologies. We want to strengthen our digital sovereignty in this way," the Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, said.
At the stage of its formation, the head of the agency was appointed Professor of the Hagen Correspondence University Christoph Igel, the commercial director was appointed manager Frank Michael Weber, who worked in various companies, including the German IT giant SAP. The official launching ceremony will take place in the city of Halle in October, where the agency's headquarters will be located, the Interior Ministry said.
The authorities expect that this will create 100 jobs in Saxony, the former part of East Germany (GDR).
The main task of the agency is to identify and work out concrete ideas for the development of innovative ways to solve cybersecurity problems. The agency will build on this work to make proposals to the federal government on specific cybersecurity solutions. The agency's budget comes in at 350 million Euros ($411 million) until 2023.
