The George Washington University’s Cybersecurity Policy and Research Institute and Germany’s Cyber-Security Council will sign an agreement today seeking $15 million in grant funding from their two governments for a five-year program to develop cyber cooperation between the two nations.
The program would cover cyber technology, policy and administration and would include track 2 dialogues on outstanding cyber issues as well as academic exchanges, joint research projects, seminars and joint cyber exercises, according to a letter that will be signed at 4 p.m. today by leaders of the two organizations.
The institutes will also seek matching funds from philanthropic and cultural institutions, they said, and will partner with other universities as necessary.
The proposal comes at a low-point for cyber cooperation between the U.S. and Germany, sparked by German anger over broad NSA data collection revealed in the Snowden leaks — including that the agency listened in on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone conversations. The nations continue to engage in a cyber-dialogue. Cyber-Security Council of Germany President Arne Schönbohm told POLITICO yesterday he considers that a largely political exercise with few real accomplishments.
“Cybersecurity is of utmost importance for both Germany and the United States, and remains a top priority for their respective domestic and international agendas,” the letter states. “And yet current discussions between the two nations are either at a high political level, or one-off academic exchanges with limited long-term impact. What is missing is a middle layer: sustained collaboration of scholars, policy experts and stakeholders working towards common interests to serve as a bridge between the two nations.”