5. Strengthening data security and developing informational autonomy The digital transformation of society requires a paradigm shift in data policy. Data is the basic raw material in the digital economy. More and more aspects of business and society are being measured and evaluated, connected and marketed in an increasing degree of complexity and differentiation. Avoiding data collection and storage can no longer be our guiding principle. On the contrary, in the future the prevailing data security issues will involve individual “informational autonomy”. Private individuals and companies must be confident that their data is protected from abuse. Users and consumers must be able to make their own decisions on how their data is used. Data security and informational autonomy are important cornerstones of our democracy and at the same time a prerequisite for the acceptability and success of a data-driven economy. If Germany does not have trustworthy and secure ICT infrastructures, we run the danger of losing competitive ability and future economic strength. Without data security it will be particularly difficult to convince our small and medium-sized enterprises that digitisation of their business is the way of the future. According to the current report published in 2015 by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the risk to IT security is estimated to be high in many areas. Information provided by the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (Bitkom e. V.) indicates that more than half (51%) of all companies in Germany have been victims of cyber crime in the past two years. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular are strongly affected, at 61%, by spying or acts of sabotage (2015 survey). The annual damage to the German economy is estimated to be at about €51 billion. www.de.digital 33