charter of trust launch

The leaders of some of the world’s biggest companies have signed a joint charter agreeing to set tough standards for cybersecurity

The Charter of Trust, an initiative initiated by Siemens, calls for binding rules and standards to build trust in cybersecurity and further advance digitalisation.

Other signatories of the charter include Airbus, Allianz, Daimler Group, IBM, NXP, SGS and Deutsche Telekom.

The initiative, announced at the Munich Security Conference, was witnessed by EU commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska.

Siemens president and CEO Joe Kaeser said: “Confidence that the security of data and networked systems is guaranteed is a key element of the digital transformation.

“That's why we have to make the digital world more secure and more trustworthy. It's high time we acted – not just individually but jointly with strong partners who are leaders in their markets. We hope more partners will join us to further strengthen our initiative.”

The Charter identifies 10 action areas in cybersecurity where governments and businesses must both become active.

It calls for responsibility for cybersecurity to be assumed at the highest levels of government and business, with the introduction of a dedicated ministry in governments and a chief information security officer at companies.

It says companies need to establish mandatory, independent third-party certification for critical infrastructure and solutions – above all, where dangerous situations can arise, such as with autonomous vehicles or the robots of tomorrow, which will interact directly with humans during production processes.

The Charter's signatories also call for greater efforts to foster an understanding of cybersecurity through training and continuing education as well as international initiatives.

The initiative was welcomed by Canadian foreign minister and G7 representative Chrystia Freeland, who said cybersecurity will be a focus of Canada's G7 presidency this year, adding: “Secure digital networks are the critical infrastructure underpinning our interconnected world.”

Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, said: “Governments must take a leadership role when it comes to the transaction rules in cyberspace.

“But the companies that are in the forefront of envisioning and designing the future of cyberspace must develop and implement the standards. That's why the charter is so important. Together with our partners, we want to advance the topic and help define its content.”

According to Gartner, 8.4 billion networked devices were in use in 2017, a 31% increase compared to 2016. By 2020, the figure is expected to reach 20.4 billion.

Photo from left to right: Manfred Bischoff, chairman of the supervisory board, Daimler AG; Christof Mascher, member of the board of management of Allianz SE; Elżbieta Bieńkowska, EU Commissioner; Joe Kaeser, president and CEO Siemens AG; Tom Enders, CEO and executive director of Airbus SE; Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference; Rudy Stroh, executive vice-president NXP Semiconductors; Thomas Kremer, management board member Deutsche Telekom; Frankie Ng, chief executive officer SGS