Siemens, 8 partners sign charter to improve cybersecurity

Siemens and eight partners to sign a joint charter to improve cybersecurity, identifying 10 action areas where governments and business could engage in the growth of security.

"The Charter of Trust" consists of Siemens, the Munich Security Conference, Airbus, Allianz, Daimler Group, IBM, NXP, SGS and Deutsche Telekom. The trust calls for the development of binding rules and standards to build trust in cybersecurity and advance digitalization.

"Confidence that the security of data and networked systems is guaranteed is a key element of the digital transformation," said Joe Kaeser, Siemens president and CEO. "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 trust outlines 10 action areas in cybersecurity for governments and businesses. These include a call to responsibility at the highest levels of government and business with a dedicated government section and chief information officer at organizations. It further calls for companies to develop mandatory, third-party certification for infrastructure and solutions.

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