Home office, homeschooling, medical video consultation hours, or even visual contact with sick and elderly people - the Corona crisis has shown how much our society can benefit from digital infrastructures. But the reliability, data protection, and security of the systems used are a heavy burden on the digital society. The consequences of a large-scale cyber accident during the Corona crisis, for example, should not be underestimated.

With a close partnership for IT security, the Berlin research institutions Fraunhofer FOKUS and HTW want to put the security of digital applications at the center of science and society. “I very much welcome the cooperation between the two Berlin institutions on this important topic. The past few months have confronted us all with challenges. At the same time, we have taken enormous steps in digitization, which will have a lasting impact on the world we live in. Strong collaborative research on IT security is therefore essential - also to promote trust in digital systems,” said Steffen Krach, State Secretary for Science and Research in Berlin.

Prof. Dr. Manfred Hauswirth, head of the Fraunhofer FOKUS emphasizes: “Together with the researchers at the HTW, we want to transfer scientific findings into application-oriented systems suitable for everyday use, as well as into teaching and further education - for the benefit of the economy and the citizens”.

“Through these combined forces, Berlin will have unique expertise in this field in Germany and expand its pioneering role in the field of intelligent digitization concepts,” says Prof. Dr. Carsten Busch, President of the HTW Berlin. Among other things, the cooperation includes a new course of study in “Business Information Security” as well as research and special professorships for digital infrastructures.

Fraunhofer FOKUS as part of the largest European organization for applied research and the HTW as the largest university of applied sciences in Berlin have already been part of a nationwide cluster for research and further education in the field of cybersecurity for four years. In the joint cybersecurity laboratory near the new Berlin airport, the latest research results are also made available to industry and public authorities as part of further education measures. Children and young people are sensitized to data protection and IT security, e.g. in school events, the Long Night of the Sciences and Girls' Day. At the same time, both partners also work together with important, local initiatives such as the IT security network Berlin-Brandenburg.