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Data protection in the USA - part 3 of the delegation visit
Delegation trip with the Cyber Security Council of Germany
In Europe and its neighbouring countries, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) now arrived after one and a half years. The German discussion about data protection is increasingly focusing on the exchange of data with third countries, primarily with the USA. There, the tech giants such as Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook have recently come in for criticism. In order to get a first-hand impression of data protection in the USA, Prof. Dr. Andre Döring went on a two-week delegation trip, organized by the Cyber Security Council of Germany. In the three-part series, Prof. Dr. Döring reports on his impressions in three stops.
Data protection situation in Germany
The Hessian state data protection commissioner advises against using the Office365 package from Microsoft due to data protection concerns. The data protection conference agrees that Windows 10 cannot be used in compliance with GDPR. Amazon collects thousands of data points from its customers and Facebook is criticized not least because of the data leak to Cambridge Analytica.
“Aus meiner Sicht ist es sinnvoll, Entwicklungen in Sachen Datenschutz jenseits des Atlantiks aus deutscher oder besser europäischer Sicht kritisch zu begleiten. Es ist aber auch immer gut, sich persönlich ein Bild von der Lage zu machen. Aus diesem Grund habe ich mich der diesjährigen US-Delegation des Cyber-Sicherheitsrates Deutschland e. V. vom 08.11. bis 14.11.2019 angeschlossen.” so Prof. Dr. Döring. Die exzellenten Kontakte des Cyber-Sicherheitsrates ermöglichten es der Delegation, tiefe Einblicke in den Datenschutz und die Sicherheitsstruktur amerikanischer Unternehmen wie Microsoft und Amazon und Sicherheitsbehörden wie des Department of Homeland Security zu erlangen, die sonst verschlossen blieben würden.
Privacy in Silicon Valley
The next domestic flight will be from Seattle to San José, a good starting point for visiting companies in the heart of the new economy, Silicon Valley. Meetings with the start-up incubator Plug&Play and the top 5 investors Andressen Horowitz were on the agenda.
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The Start-Up Incubator Plug & Play
The basic idea of Plug & Play is not only to be available to start-ups as an investor, but also to offer office space and establish contact with other potential investors. Plug & Play has hosted successful start-ups such as Dropbox or Paypal, and is also involved in the Fintech N26.
In terms of content, this event focused on the work of Plug & Play and the advantages of the local ecosystem for start-ups. It was particularly exciting to see how start-ups in the USA are innovatively networked and supported in their development.
Visit to the investor Andreessen Horowitz
On the way to Andreessen Horowitz we had the opportunity to take a look at the new Apple Campus from the outside or in a virtual reality simulation in the Apple Visitors Center in Cupertino. You can only marvel at the state-of-the-art complex Apple has built here, which has room for over 10,000 employees.
Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most renowned investors in the Valley, was then another highlight of the trip. The whole event was perfectly organized. A partner presented us six portfolio companies, each of which presented their cybersecurity products in a 20-minute pitch.
Mit dabei war unter anderem Illumio, dessen Gründer und CEO Andrew Rubin, der 2015, 2016, 2017 und 2019 zu den “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs” gehörte. Trotz all der Ehre, Andrew Rubin ließ es sich nicht nehmen, den selbst Pitch durchzuführen.
In addition to the companies' exciting products, it was particularly interesting for me to see how such pitches are set up in the USA and how they are kept for the founders. You could say that the presentation picks up the listener directly and leads them through the product presentation like on a roller coaster.
Los Angeles
Another very short flight took us from San José to Los Angeles. Los Angeles itself belongs to one of the strongest economic regions in the world with a GDP that is significantly higher than that of some countries in the world. In L.A. we visited the Cyber Defence Centre of the city of L.A. and the Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer of the Long Beach Port Authority.
City of L.A. Cyber Defense Center
L.A.'s Cyber Defense Center is a large complex near downtown. We were received there by the head of the center, a representative of the Department of Homeland Security and a direct representative of the mayor of LA.
After a short presentation about the tasks we could get our own picture of the Cyberarbwehrzentrum. This was followed by a controversial discussion between the city representatives and the delegation on topics such as: secure exchange of data, data protection and the possibility of cooperation between government agencies and companies from Germany.
Long Beach Port Authority
The joint port of Long Beach and Los Angeles is one of the fifth largest ports in the world. Goods are mainly imported from China and are transhipped from here to the north or the middle of the USA. The port is owned by the city of L.A. and the areas are leased to operators by the Port Authority.
Due to the complex, highly automated logistical processes, the topic of cyber security is of great importance. We had the opportunity to get a detailed insight into the work, tasks and risks in the port with the CIO and CISO of the Port Authority. Unfortunately, due to the confidentiality agreement, these cannot be discussed further here.
Conclusion
On 15.11. I started the return journey in Germany. For my part, I can only say that the journey was worthwhile in almost all points. Not only was it perfectly organized, but we had access to companies and areas that would have remained closed to us as individual participants.
Data protection Delegation trip to the USA
- To the first part of the delegation trip: The East Coast: a Mecca for cyber security
- To the second part of the delegation trip: The tech giants in Redmont and Seattle
- COVID-19 and data protection - March 25, 2020
- Data protection in the USA - part 3 of the delegation visit - December 6, 2019
- Data protection in the USA - part 2 of the delegation visit - December 3, 2019
