Blockchain, cryptocurrencies, Artificial Intelligence, biometrics and 5G – to some extent these technologies and their applications have already become part of our everyday digital life or certainly will have in the near future. Users of the increasingly complex technologies experience both euphoria and scepticism. As a result, regulatory mechanisms are indispensable in all of the technological areas. The application of these technologies, which can be extensive and irreversible, must be supported by rigorous technical security measures.

Who keeps track of the latest developments?

The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is working on fundamental research issues in all of these areas. Using an approach that is needs-based and rooted in actual practice, experts analyse which requirements or test criteria are necessary for secure use. In many cases, technologies overlap, are interdependent or influence each other.

For example, fully autonomous traffic is impossible without Artificial Intelligence and a comprehensive 5G mobile network. Cryptocurrencies cannot be mapped securely without blockchain technology. In addition, biometric recognition systems (such as fingerprint sensors or facial recognition) quickly reach their limits without the machine learning capabilities of Artificial Intelligences.

In the following, we cover the technological applications, what supports them and the security situation.