German Minister of the Interior visits Open Technology Institute

On April 30, 2013, Germany’s equivalent of the U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security, the Minister of the Interior, Hans-Peter Friedrich, visited the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute during his recent visit to Washington, DC.

Sascha Meinrath, Director of the Open Technology Institute and Vice-President of the New America Foundation, welcomed the Minister and his staff and provided an overview of the work of the New America Foundation and the Open Technology Institute. Afterward, the Minister was briefed by staff from the Open Technology Institute about its work including a presentation on the use of Commotion in Red Hook, Brooklyn. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy last November, the Open Technology Institute together with the Red Hook Initiative worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), neighborhood volunteers and local businesses to rapidly expand a community wireless network – an example of wireless networking can be used in a post disaster environment.

Minister Friedrich also participated in a discussion on cyber-security with staff from the Open Technology Institute as well as Allan Friedman, Fellow and Research Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings, Ian Wallace, Visiting Fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings, Jason Healey, Director of the Cyber Statecraft Institute at the Atlantic Council, and Matthew Fleming, Fellow at the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute. The conversation focused on Germany’s cyber-security efforts as well as recent developments in the United States. It included a discussion about the role of the state and the private sector, the role of privacy, and the need for better information on the threat landscape.

As societies around the world are adapting to the new environment created by the Internet, international exchanges are crucial to share lessons learned and best practices to maximize the benefit of the open and free Internet and to protect it against malicious actors. Both Germany and the United States are currently considering new cyber-security legislation. The event was therefore a timely opportunity to exchange latest developments and to engage in future discussions.

Participants