Rösler opens annual meeting of the Task Force on IT Security in Commerce
Dr. Philipp Rösler, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, opened today the annual meeting of the Task Force on IT Security in Commerce. The task force was launched and will be run by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Around 200 representatives from business, science and administration attended the event in Berlin.
Minister Rösler commented: "Nearly all - 99.7 per cent - of small and medium-sized companies in Germany or precisely 99.7 per cent need IT to function. Our companies use the internet for purchasing, selling and marketing purposes. Our most recent studies show that the risks of using information and communication technologies are often still underestimated. In particular, when it comes to implementing organisational IT security concepts, there is great scope for improvement. We therefore call upon all the stakeholders to work together. Together with partners of our task force, we have launched a number of flagship projects, which offer practical assistance to small and middle-sized companies."
The respective partners presented four of these projects in the areas 'tax consultants and auditors', 'financial service providers', 'hotel and catering industries' and 'internet service providers' at today's annual meeting. In addition, the task force presented further activities it is undertaking and discussed its future key areas and priorities with the participants.
Together with the Centre for Advanced Security Research Darmstadt (CASED), the Economics Ministry will award an IT Security Prize to small and medium-sized companies in November 2012 to draw attention to companies that are particularly good at organisational IT security measures.
Further information on the task force is available in German on its website at www.it-sicherheit-in-der-wirtschaft.de. It forms part of the German government's Cyber Security Strategy.
