- November 11, 2021
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- May 20, 2025
On November 11, 2021, Aspen Institute Germany and Telefónica Germany hosted a Digital Dish event on Resilience in the Digital Age: The Future of European, Transatlantic and International Cybersecurity with Dr. rer. pol. Annegret Berndiek, Deputy Research Group Leader EU External Relations at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, State Secretary Dr. Markus Kerber, Federal German Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, Dr. Nils Schmid, Member of the German Bundestag, foreign affairs spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, and Iris Plöger, Member of the Executive Board of the Federation of German Industries (BDI). The event was moderated by Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Managing Director of the Aspen Institute Germany.
The debate about necessary standards of national IT security, but also about the potential danger of international cyber attacks, has come back into focus in the context of the federal election in Germany. While the topic is often viewed from a technical perspective, cybersecurity has long become a multi-layered geopolitical and foreign policy challenge as well. In many cases, cyberattacks are sponsored by states to threaten critical infrastructures of rivals, influence elections through disinformation campaigns, and steal sensitive data. Triggered by this threat, many experts are calling for global cooperation among like-minded partners. However, many states continue to focus on addressing the problem almost exclusively at the national level.
Do we need global institutions to combat cyberattacks? What might these look like? How successful are efforts at the EU level? What is the significance of the geopolitical interests of autocratic states in cyberspace? What role can the transatlantic alliance play, especially with regard to data security and critical infrastructure disputes?
Together with a small circle of selected participants, we discussed these and many more questions.
