A/69/112 Following the German general election in September 2013 and according to the Coalition Agreement, cybersecurity is high on the Government agenda. Data privacy standards will be on the rise. Lead topics for the next four years include better consumer protection; amendments to the criminal laws to better protect individuals; the passing of an IT security law with mandatory minimum IT security standards for critical infrastructure; and an obligation in respect of all federal authorities to invest 10 per cent of their IT budget to improve the security of their systems. As a consequence of concerns about unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, as well as unlawful or arbitrary collection of personal data by third parties, the Governme nt of Germany strongly encourages IT service providers to encrypt telecommunication and not to forward telecommunication data to foreign intelligence services. The full text of Germany’s submission can be found at http://www.un.org/ disarmament/topics/informationsecurity/. Portugal [Original: English] [20 May 2014] General Assembly resolution 68/243 on the above-mentioned theme recalls the important role of science and technology in the context of int ernational security, recognizing that the developments in those areas can have civil and military applications and also recognizing that progress should be maintained and encouraged. Progress in the field of information and telecommunications means increasing opportunities for the development of civilization; cooperation among States; the promotion of human creativity; and the circulation of information in the community as a whole. However, those technologies and means can potentially be used for purposes that are inconsistent with international stability and security and may negatively affect the national integrity of States, in the civil and military fields. General Assembly resolution 68/243 requires the contribution of Member States in four areas, recalling the report of the Group of Governmental Experts A/68/98: 1. General appreciation of the issues of information security; 2. Efforts taken at the national level to strengthen information security and to promote international cooperation in this field; 3. The content of the concepts aimed at strengthening the security of global information and telecommunications systems; 4. Possible measures that could be taken by the international community to strengthen information security at the global level. The report presented some recommendations regarding the following areas: norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviour by States; confidence -building measures and the exchange of information; and capacity-building measures. 12/18 14-56479