BSI and Schwarz Digits are building a German government cloud
At the Munich Security Conference, the BSI and Schwarz Digits announced a far-reaching cooperation. The goal is a sovereign cloud infrastructure for administration that relies on open source and should meet the highest levels of secrecy.
Digital sovereignty as a goal
The Federal Office for Information Security and Schwarz Digits, the IT subsidiary of the Schwarz Group, agreed on a long-term cooperation at the Munich Security Conference. The focus is on building sovereign cloud solutions for authorities and operators of critical infrastructure in order to be less dependent on non-European providers.
The background is growing geopolitical tensions and hybrid threats in which data sovereignty and control over IT systems play a central role. The “Stackit Public Cloud Restricted” is scheduled to launch as early as 2026, which meets the requirements for the “VS-NfD” secrecy level. This would allow authorities to process internal notes or reporting data in a legally secure manner in a German cloud.
Open source against dependencies
Expanded infrastructure is planned, which should even be suitable for higher-class information up to “secret”. Technically, the partnership relies heavily on open standards and open source in order to avoid so-called vendor lock-ins. According to Schwarz Digits, the architecture should be based on the zero trust principle, i.e. fundamentally distrusting any access and strictly securing it. Open interfaces and transparent source code should ensure that authorities can change providers if necessary and that there are no hidden access options by foreign actors.
This is the Zero Trust principle: Zero Trust is a modern security model that fundamentally trusts no one – neither internal nor external users or devices. Every access request is always reassessed, regardless of location, based on identity, context and risk factors. The “Trust, but Verify” principle minimizes risks by granting only minimal rights and continuously monitoring them.
This sets Stackit apart from models in which US cloud technology such as Microsoft’s Azure Stack is licensed and software and updates continue to come from the USA. In this context, critics often point to the US Cloud Act, which allows American authorities to access data from US providers under certain circumstances. BSI President Claudia Plattner therefore sees the cooperation as an important step towards a “resilient cyber nation Germany”.
Secure AI for administration and the state
The collaboration goes beyond pure infrastructure and will also regulate the safe use of artificial intelligence in administration. To this end, the Schwarz Group is expanding its commitment to the Heidelberg AI company Aleph Alpha and is aiming for around 20 percent ownership. The aim is to create European language models that, for example, summarize files or process citizens’ inquiries without sensitive data leaving the European legal area.
Digitalization is becoming the linchpin of a massively changing world – with impacts and interactions on rules of coexistence, politics, power and state interests. Germany and Europe need a strong response to this. I am therefore extremely pleased that with Schwarz Digits we now have a partner at our side with whom we can specifically and strategically advance digitalization in our country and at the same time secure it: through innovative, high-performance products with modern security and sovereignty properties from which the state, economy and society can benefit equally. This is a big and important step on the way to becoming a resilient cyber nation in Germany. BSI President Claudia Plattner
The new offers are aimed primarily at federal ministries, authorities and state administrations. At the same time, Stackit is in competition with established hyperscalers that score points with a wide range of functions and global infrastructure. Whether a sovereign German cloud can keep up in terms of performance and scaling still has to be proven in practical use.
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