Concerns have been raised regarding a potential funding gap for the German federal government’s IT security program, “Digital. Sicher. Souverän”. This issue emerged from the Federal Ministry for Research (BMFTR)’s response to a minor parliamentary inquiry by the Green faction, as reported by the “Frankfurter Rundschau”. The coalition government, comprising the CDU/CSU and SPD, currently lacks a concrete timeline for the successor program to the existing initiative, which was backed by 350 million euros and is due to expire in 2026.
The program, launched in 2021 by the traffic light coalition, is designed to strengthen Germany’s technological sovereignty and cybersecurity through innovation. However, the government’s own correspondence indicates that a potential follow-up program may not begin until “during 2027” meaning there will be no seamless transition.
Given the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, the Green Party has voiced considerable criticism. Experts are currently worried, particularly about Anthropic’s AI model known as “Claude Mythos”. This model, which is not yet publicly accessible, is viewed as a potentially dangerous turning point for IT security and an emerging “hacker superweapon”. According to Ayse Asar, the Greens’ parliamentary spokeswoman, the research discipline needs “reliability and continuity, not a funding gap”. Asar stressed that those who take Europe’s digital sovereignty seriously cannot afford to halt cybersecurity research.