One year ago, on 1 August 2024, the European AI Act came into force – a historic milestone for the global regulation of artificial intelligence. Europe has thus set comprehensive standards.

eco – Association of the Internet Industry regards the High-Tech Agenda of the Federal Ministry of Education, Research, Technology and Space as an important step towards enabling digital innovations “made in Germany”. With this initiative, the German federal government is sending a strong signal for the country’s future viability and demonstrating its recognition of the importance of digital innovation. The Association particularly welcomes the fact that Artificial Intelligence is identified as the number one key technology in the agenda.

The cabinet decision on the implementation of the NIS 2 Directive was announced today. This puts cybersecurity back on the political agenda – with tangible implications for companies in critical sectors. eco KRITIS expert Ulrich Plate explains the questions that remain unanswered in his latest assessment.

Quantum computers are developing faster than expected and pose a threat to traditional encryption methods. Crypto agility is becoming a prerequisite for long-term IT security in companies.

With the leaked draft of the "Security Package 2.0", the German Federal Ministry of the Interior is planning far-reaching digital surveillance powers – some of which would not be subject to judicial review. eco – Association of the Internet Industry warns against dismantling constitutional safeguards and calls for a reorientation in line with fundamental rights.

NIS2, CSA, CRA and e-evidence: eco's Competence Group on Critical Infrastructures (KRITIS) calls for clear, practical rules for digital resilience in EU cybersecurity policy.

With the “Email Security Year 2025” initiative, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and eco are sending out a strong signal in support of secure digital communication.

With the “Email Security Year 2025”, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), eco – Association of the Internet Industry, and Bitkom are sending a strong signal for secure digital communication.

Only 10% of respondents to the eco Industry Pulse – a recent survey of IT decision-makers* conducted by the market and opinion research institute Civey on behalf of eco – Association of the Internet Industry – believe that Germany is well prepared for upcoming AI developments. Germany also receives poor marks as a digital location: 72% of IT decision-makers in Germany rate the state of digital transformation as poor to very poor. One third even give it a grade of 6.

Data availability is a key enabler for the training and application of Artificial Intelligence. Companies are currently undergoing a transformation towards AI-driven and databased processes and business models. However, limited access to high-quality data and legal uncertainty remain significant obstacles.