In carrying out the 2011 Cyber Security Strategy, the National Cyber Response Centre was established under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of the Interior to strengthen information-sharing among the relevant federal agencies. At the Centre, the federal agencies responsible for cyber security issues currently share information on cyber incidents as well as their assessments and analyses. This activity will be further intensified. To improve the ability to avert cyber attacks, the Centre must be suitably organized within the framework of cyber security architecture for all levels of government. As an inter-ministerial institution, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of the Interior the Centre will be further developed into a central platform for cooperation and coordination. In future, the Centre will have its own evaluation and analysis capabilities and a current cyber situation report reflecting the cyber security situation in Germany. In case of cyber attack, it is crucial for all national actors to inform each other and coordinate their response in compliance with applicable law. If a cyber attack originates abroad, foreign and security policy aspects must also be taken into account. In case of cyber security incidents affecting numerous institutions across Germany, the Centre becomes a crisis response centre. In this case, the affected IT systems can be secured and restored and cyber attacks investigated and averted only through coordinated measures taken by the national actors. This operational cooperation is to be coordinated more intensively. The planning and implementation of joint exercises and reciprocal training are also to be established. The federal states are invited to share their capabilities in this coordination process in the context of tasks performed by every level of government. Improving local analysis and response capability Recent cyber attacks have shown that there are hardly any institutionalized government structures, other than the usual IT security measures, to help those affected assess an incident quickly and locally. Firstly, this involves managing security incidents in technical terms, for which the BSI has special expertise. Secondly, cyber attacks may require action by the local security authorities based on the relevant law. The National Cyber Response Centre oversees the necessary coordination for such operations involving multiple authorities while respecting 21