BSI and Schwarz Digits together for sovereign cloud solutions

The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and Schwarz Digits, the IT and digital division of the Schwarz Group, have agreed on a strategic cooperation as part of the Munich Security Conference. The aim is to develop sovereign cloud solutions for public administration in order to strengthen Germany's technological independence. The partners intend to develop secure cloud systems and control layers that also protect critical data. This infrastructure is intended to ensure operational capability against hybrid threats and prevent vendor lock-ins.

In view of increasing hybrid threats and geopolitical tensions, digital sovereignty is becoming the focus of state resilience. BSI and Schwarz Digits are relying on a coordinated approach to ensure the protection of critical infrastructures and the operational capability of administration. They plan to further develop existing solutions and create new, sovereign cloud infrastructures. To this end, Schwarz Digits will introduce the "STACKIT Public Cloud Restricted" later this year, which will enable the operation of a public cloud in the area of VS-NfD (classified information for official use only). Building on this, the STACKIT Distributed Cloud is intended to offer scalable infrastructure up to the secret classification level.

Together for Digital Sovereignty

BSI President Claudia Plattner emphasized the importance of digitalization for Germany and Europe: "With Schwarz Digits, we have a partner who helps us to drive and secure digitalization in a targeted and strategic manner. This is a big step towards a resilient cyber nation Germany." Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Federal Minister for Digital and Modernization, sees the partnership as a strong signal for German innovation and European operational capability: "Sovereign cloud solutions make our administration more modern, faster, and more secure. Digital sovereignty is the key to future viability, security, freedom, and prosperity."

The cooperation includes regular secondments and technical exchange formats. It covers critical areas such as monitoring, cloud forensics, and approval processes for the processing of classified information. Furthermore, sovereignty criteria and interoperability standards are to be further developed in order to facilitate provider changes and avoid dependencies.

Rolf Schumann, Co-CEO of Schwarz Digits, emphasizes: "True digital freedom arises from control over one's own data and systems. This partnership is a clear signal for a digitally sovereign Europe." His co-managing director Christian Müller adds: "Our technological response is based on the development of technical control layers and the implementation of the zero-trust principle. We create interoperability through open-source technologies to permanently exclude vendor lock-in."

The partnership also addresses strategic issues regarding the IT security of products and services. In times of demographic change and pressure on administration, technologies such as artificial intelligence are becoming an engine for efficiency. The partnership ensures that such innovations are deployed on a secure and sovereign foundation.

The Schwarz Group has long been committed to the issue of digital sovereignty. For example, in January, the company increased its stake in the AI startup Aleph Alpha to 20 percent to secure more influence. Co-CEO Schumann cited the need for strong German AI players, otherwise risking economic power and thus prosperity, as the motivation for this investment.

(avr)