V I . B U I L D I N G S E C U R I T Y, P R OT E C T I O N A N D T R U S T W I T H I N S O C I E T Y A N D T H E E CO N O M Y The Federal Government has set itself the task of ensuring that the network is secure in order to reap the full benefits of digitisation for German society and its economy. People will not trust new digital services and offerings unless their data is protected and they can operate with maximum security on the Internet. Consumers will not trust online shops, email services and social networks unless their data is secure and not misused. Companies will not trust new business models unless they can be sure that the hardware and software used guarantees the confidentiality of their trade secrets and the integrity and availability of their IT systems. System security and data protection are the key cross-cutting issues of digitisation and are incorporated into all areas of activity in the Digital Agenda. zzWe are carrying out research relating to the security 1. Greater online protection for citizens and companies zzWe promote business models that use anonymisation Our aim is to protect the privacy of individuals and their communication on the Internet. We are creating the conditions to ensure that every individual is in a position to protect themselves and their data online. 31 of users and implementing the findings in practice. The “Safe, secure and empowered in the digital world” research programme (Selbstbestimmt und sicher in der digitalen Welt) will deal with the IT security of new technologies and the protection of data in tomorrow‘s world. The programme will also focus on the development of user-friendly solutions. zzWe are helping people to increase their awareness and knowledge of online security. Caution and know-how on the part of users are crucial to online protection and security. We are stepping up our cooperation with the Germany Secure Online association (Deutschland sicher im Netz, DSiN). and pseudonymisation measures. We help companies improve their IT security. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, often do not have the necessary resources. The complementary initiatives “IT security in business” (IT-Sicherheit in der Wirtschaft) and “Alliance for cyber security” (Allianz für Cybersicherheit) are being expanded. zzWe support and demand simple security technologies. Internet providers must also take responsibility for ensuring that users can operate securely online. We are making industry and business more accountable for developing and offering trustworthy hardware and software products and services that users can deploy to increase their online security. zzWe are providing secure infrastructures so that users can protect their own identity online and communicate securely. Use of the new identity card will be simplified and its applications will be extended. We support the use of more and better encryption and aim to be the world’s leading country in this area. To achieve this goal, the encryption of private communication must be adopted as standard across the board. We are expanding the use of security technologies such as De-Mail. 2. Modern data protection for the information age We are committed to a high level of data protection that continues to guarantee the freedom and right to privacy of citizens. At the same time, we want to optimise the opportunities offered by digitisation for our society and economy. zzWe will modernise and harmonise European data pro- tection law in the digital internal market in order to strengthen the rights of citizens in the networked world and recognise the importance of data protection as a crucial factor in a business location. The most important step to achieving this goal will be the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation by 2015 at the latest. We also want to have a high level of data protection to respond to issues arising from the new technologies or types of data processing such as big data, profiling, web tracking or cloud computing to protect privacy.