- Governmental cyber organization seeks innovative concepts.
The Cyber Agency is open to exploring non-traditional methods as part of their mission. As Christian Hummert, head of the Federal Agency, stated in an interview with the German Press Agency, "We believe in leveraging the collective intelligence of a swarm to foster innovative concepts." This narrative is reflected in the agency's countrywide ideas contest launched in June, which has garnered 65 submissions - with contributions from both private individuals and organizations.
The competition's objective is to develop ideas for deploying autonomous, intelligent systems within a swarm. As Hummert expounds, "Imagine a bunch of drones monitoring forests, identifying potential wildfire risks, and even dropping water as a preventive measure." Apart from individuals, universities and enterprises have also submitted their proposals. Hummert expresses hope that even an isolated hacker, who's been living in obscurity and has yet to pay much attention to the EU regulations, might get involved and contribute an idea the agency hadn't considered.
The top entries will be selected in the not-too-distant future, with the victor set to receive a generous 100,000 euros and a chance to see their idea come to fruition. "Ultimately, our goal is to turn this winning strategy into a tangible project," Hummert explained.
Moving on, another research competition by the agency, situated in Halle, revolves around safeguarding critical infrastructure like airports, hospitals, and nuclear power plants. "A breach can have severe ramifications for the public," Hummert noted. Notably, two proposals from the University of Magdeburg and Hamburg impressed the judges the most, securing funding of up to 10 million euros. Hummert believes this to be a significant triumph for the agency and, by extension, the entire IT security sector.
Established in 2020, the Cyber Agency is headquartered in Halle. It's been entrusted to the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
The competition encouraging innovative ideas is being promoted on various online platforms, aiming to reach a wider audience globally. The winner's idea, once implemented, will likely be showcased on The Internet for future reference and potential replication.
