personnel
Claudia Plattner becomes the new BSI President
The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) in Bonn. photo
©Oliver Berg/dpa
The successor to former BSI President Arne Schönbohm has been found: ECB employee Claudia Plattner. For the first time, a woman will be at the head of the BSI.
The tech expert Claudia Plattner will be the new President of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). “I am very pleased that in Claudia Plattner I have been able to win an outstanding, internationally networked IT security expert with extensive management experience as the future BSI President,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD).
With Plattner, a woman will be at the head of a security agency in the Federal Ministry of the Interior for the first time. “It’s a strong sign and a big win,” said Faeser.
The mathematician will take over the office in extremely turbulent times, according to the Greens. Russia’s war of aggression has revealed how inadequately our democracy is still protected against certain security threats.
Plattner was most recently Director General for Information Systems at the European Central Bank (ECB). “We understand Claudia Plattner’s decision and wish her all the best,” said ECB President Christine Lagarde.
The long-standing BSI President Arne Schönbohm was fired by Faeser last October. “Now it’s up to the new BSI President to sweep up this shambles of Ms. Faeser,” criticized the digital policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Reinhard Brandl (CSU).
Jan Böhmermann had previously reported on his ZDF program about Schönbohm’s relationship with an association that is controversial because of the connections of some members to Russia. Schönbohm put up a fight. He is now President of the Federal Academy for Public Administration and is also responsible for modernizing the training landscape.
Faeser has big plans for the BSI in the coming years. The Federal Office is to become the central office and provide the federal states with more support in the area of cyber security.