Hasso-Plattner-Institut
 

Holger Münch

At the Potsdam Conference on National Cyber Security, Holger Münch, President of the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), introduces his keynote with a call for stronger consequences for criminals: "We believe that attacks [...] must have consequences. Perpetrators must feel pressure to be prosecuted and to be  convicted and sentenced." The cost-benefit ratio for offenders must also be felt, he said. Specifically, the issue is the consequences for nearly 86,000 cases of cybercrime, which the BKA recorded for 2017 alone. Nevertheless, the number of unreported cases is enormous, and many victims - both citizens and companies - do not even report an incident.

End customers and users of networked everyday devices are often unable to influence their security. Münch raised the question of stronger regulations here - for example, enforcing mandatory updates for manufacturers or obliging providers to remove infected devices from the network.

Toward fulfilling the goal of improving improve cooperation between the police forces in Germany, Münch  said the ongoing "Program 2020" would "turn the federal IT architecture on its head." Collaboration with the national cyber defense center is also being continuously intensified and cooperation with universities strengthened, said.