In presenting the German Digital Strategy a year ago, the German federal government's aim was to create a digital awakening. However, a year into the Digital Strategy, the majority of the population in Germany believes that the federal government has not yet made much progress in the area of digital transformation. This has been displayed by a recent representative survey conducted by the market and opinion research institute Civey on behalf of eco Association.

Anne Hennig is a Research Associate at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and supervises the INSPECTION research project. At this year’s Internet Security Days (ISD) on 21 and 22 September, she will give a presentation on the project. Together with her colleague Dr Peter Mayer, she explains in an eco interview what INSEPCTION is and why it can be an effective addition to already existing IT security approaches.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) was passed in the EU Parliament in November 2022 and is intended to set the standards for a safer and more open digital space for users and a level playing field for companies within the EU in the coming years.  Among other insights, eco Chair of the Board Oliver Süme has the following to say: “Internet service providers are already combatting illegal content on their platforms out of their own interest."

On 12 September 2023, the eco Networks and IoT Competence Groups will come together at the Huawei OpenLab in Ismaning to discuss groundbreaking key topics of current and future smart home applications under the motto of "Digital Infrastructure as the Foundation of Smart Home Applications". In the run-up to the event, we’ve had the opportunity to talk to Lorenz Grehlich, Head of Planning and Implementation at M-net.

Digital ecosystems contribute to achieving climate goals. Ubirch assists with the implementation and ensures transparency and trust – as reported by Ubirch CEO Stephan Noller in this interview.

There is a lot of room for improvement in the teaching of digital skills in German schools: 88.1 per cent of Germans would like to see better digital education in schools, but a breakthrough is not to be expected with the start of the new school year 2023/2024.

Tarek Nemri is an IT Security Consultant at plusserver gmbh, where he advises clients on IT security solutions and the associated processes. At this year’s Internet Security Days, he will give a presentation on “Digitalisation, data sovereignty and the cloud – your chance, surely and securely!” and tells us in an eco interview how cloud services can be important in terms of IT security.

With growing virtual attack surfaces, preventive protection solutions help avoid damage from DDoS attacks or bad bots, says Thomas Wagner of Myra Security. As part of the Internet Security Days (ISD) 2023, he talks about DDoS emergency onboarding.

Whether in the supermarket, restaurant or at the bakery: one in four people hold their mobile phone or smartwatch against the card reader to pay. The latest eco/Civey study shows that the number of mobile payment users has doubled in the last four years.

The GXFS Connect programme, which will take place on 5 and 6 September 2023 in Berlin, has now been finalised: Over the course of discussion panels, presentations and numerous networking opportunities, participants will exchange experiences and know-how – for example, on the Gaia-X funding and lighthouse projects, as well as on GXFS implementation strategies.

Realtime Register & eco’s topDNS Initiative recently held a third series of topDNS best practice webinars, showcasing what the domain name industry is doing to fight DNS abuse.

Dr Silvia Knittl is one of the Cyber & Privacy Directors at PwC Germany and leads the Enterprise Security Architects team. She supports clients in activating their cyber capabilities and manages security transformation projects. At this year’s Internet Security Days (ISD), she will be presenting on the Zero Trust approach.

Digitalisation helps to use resources according to demand and thus save energy. In an eco member interview, Mario Schröder from Thermokon Sensortechnik GmbH explains how this can be achieved.

eco denounces the German federal government’s current budget plans, which are set to have only a fraction of financial resources spent on digitalisation projects in the coming year.

Approximately one in ten (10.8 percent) post photos via social media channels such as Instagram or Facebook. Additionally, 10.6 percent send photos via email and 4.4 percent have photos printed online via print services. These are the findings of a representative survey conducted by the opinion research institute Civey on behalf of eco – Association of the Internet Industry, involving 2,500 Germans over the age of 18.

eco has issued a statement regarding Article 28 of the recently published NIS2 Directive. The draft contains EU-wide minimum standards for cybersecurity, impacting operators of critical infrastructure, among others. The newly introduced Article 28 affects not only operators of critical infrastructure, but also all “TLD name registries and entities providing domain name registration services” – regardless of their size.

From 1 August 2023, Alexander Rabe and Andreas Weiss, are taking over the management of the Association of the Internet Industry In this interview, the two Managing Directors talk about their future areas of responsibility, their top agendas for the future of eco, and the strengths and added values of the association.

After 28 years, Harald A. Summa, is retiring from the operational management of the association. Alexander Rabe and Andreas Weiss will share the management responsibilities of Europe’s leading Association of the Internet Industry from 1 August 2023.

The ICANN77 Policy Forum was recently hosted in the city of Washington D.C. United States and took place from 12 to 15 June 2023. Which topics were under discussion and what insights emerged? This was covered at the subsequent ICANN77 Readout, hosted by eco – Association of the Internet Industry and ICANN – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

Bringing the Web3 world together with the Web2 world - that is one of the goals of Freename AG, says Eleonora Bellotto, Head of Partnerships, in the eco member interview.

In the course of the German federal government’s planned Energy Efficiency Act, politicians and the Internet industry have recently been intensively discussing how providers of the digital infrastructure ecosystem can further improve their energy efficiency in Germany. A particular focus here has been on the data centre industry and the requirements for waste heat delivery.

Digital forensics is an important component for cybersecurity because, as ZITiS President Wilfried Karl notes in an eco short interview on ISD 2023, it not only makes cyberspace a safer place. As part of the Internet Security Days (ISD) 2023, he will give a keynote on Digital Sovereignty.

Digitalisation is a fundamental key to the challenges of our time, according to Kerstin Schlosser and Martin Zunken from Robert C. Spies KG. In a member interview, they explain the need to become more digital, more efficient, more sustainable and more flexible – and the contribution they make to this as a real estate consulting company.

eco Board Member for Infrastructure and Networks Klaus Landefeld comments on the present draft bill of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior for the transposition of the European NIS2 Directive.

In today's world of information overload, it is important to be able to deal with disinformation, myths and direct propaganda. Find out how the Private Institute for the Development of Public Digital Networks, is enabling Russian citizens to access uncensored information in Russia. Oleg Basistyy, COO of IEDN's project "VPN...

CleanDNS & eco's topDNS Initiative invite you to the second in a series of topDNS best practice webinars to showcase what the domain name industry is doing to fight DNS abuse. Fighting abuse online is first and foremost a matter of taking appropriate action, taken by the appropriate party, taken at the appropriate time....

Klaus Landefeld, eco Board Member criticises lack of coordination and consultation by the German federal government on new regulations for critical infrastructures.

What are the legal requirements for cybersecurity in the IT supply chain? A Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) plays an essential role here – it is one of the focus topics in 2023 for the work of the Security Competence Group in the eco Association.

In the context of the energy efficiency act planned by the German government, politicians and the Internet industry have recently engaged in extensive discussions on how providers of the digital infrastructure ecosystem can further improve their energy efficiency in Germany. The focus has been particularly on the data centre industry and the regulations surrounding the utilisation of waste heat.

Only those who know their own weaknesses can remedy them. Sebastian Schreiber, Managing Director of SySS GmbH, discusses how to achieve this in an interview and a keynote speech at the Internet Security Days (ISD) 2023.