A/68/156/Add.1 complexity and the novelty of digital attacks, and the secrecy obscuring individual incidents. Efforts taken at the national level In 1991, the Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BSI) was established as the first and foremost central information technology security service provider for the Federal Government. In this function, BSI publishes binding minimum information technology security standards for the federal administration and serves as its central information technology incident reporting office. It furthermore operates as a neutral office for consultancy and support in the field of information technology security. Main achievements of the work done by the office were, for example, the Information Technology Security Management Standard (IT-Grundschutz), the computer emergency response team for federal agencies (CERT-Bund) as a platform for incident handling and information exchange (dating back to 1994) and the Citizen Computer Emergency Response Team (Buerger-CERT), founded in 2006, as a means to address larger parts of society and raise awareness. Moreover, BSI issues warnings on malware and security vulnerabilities in information technology products and services, informs concerned parties (including information technology vendors and general public) and delivers recommendations for countermeasures. The 2005 national plan for the protection of information infrastructures, targeting both government and industry, was followed by the cyber security strategy adopted by the Federal Government in February 2011. Its core is critical infrastructure protection. Since 2008, the German Government and German critical infrastructure operators have been cooperating in a public private partnership. This “CIP Implementation Plan” (UP KRITIS) maintains working groups for different aspects of cyber security, such as crisis management, exercises and availability of critical services. The National Information Technology Situation Centre (Nationales ITLagezentrum), which is operated by BSI, keeps track of the national and global information technology security situation in order to rapidly detect and analyse major information technology security incidents and recommend protective measures. In case of an information technology-related crisis, it expands its capacity and becomes the National Information Technology Crisis Reaction Centre (Nationales IT-Krisenreaktionszentrum), concentrating capabilities for handling information technology crises, covering all national aspects, including governmental networks and critical infrastructures. In keeping with the 2011 cyber security strategy, all Government authorities that deal with cyber security issues are to work closely and directly with each other and with the private sector within the National Cyber Response Centre (Nationales Cyber-Abwehrzentrum), which is led and hosted by BSI. With regard to policy, the National Cyber Security Council (Nationaler CyberSicherheitsrat) at the State secretary level addresses key cyber security issues and the position of Germany on them. This includes coordinating cyber foreign policy, including aspects of foreign, defence, economic and security policy. 6/24 13-47545