Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI)

Glossary

Business phone glossary

Our glossary explains basic terms and abbreviations relating to mobile working, the use of smartphones and tablets in the corporate environment (Enterprise Mobility) and security aspects in the use of mobile devices.

B

Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI)

Civilian federal authority in Germany

The “Federal Office for Information Security” (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik = BSI) is a German civilian federal authority that handles IT security issues. The official seat is in Bonn. The BSI is assigned to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Construction and Home Affairs. In its mission statement, the BSI describes its mission as follows:

As the national cyber security authority, the BSI shapes information security in digitalization through prevention, detection and response for the state, the economy and society.

Structure and organization of the BSI

The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) sees itself as the federal government’s cyber security authority and a shaper of secure digitization in Germany. The agency is part of the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Construction and Home Affairs.

The BSI is headquartered in Bonn. Another office is located in Freital (Saxony).

The BSI currently employs around 1,200 people. The BSI is led by a management staff headed by the president and vice president. The technical work is organized into eight departments. Each department is made up of up to three specialist areas. The departments are in turn subdivided into various units.

Basic IT protection and basic protection compendium

The Federal Office for Information Security develops the so-called “IT-Grundschutz” (“IT basic protection”), a procedure for identifying and implementing IT security measures. Since 2018, the central publication of IT-Grundschutz has been the so-called “IT-Grundschutz-Kompendium”, a publication that also addresses issues of mobile security (in particular, the security of mobile apps as well as mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets).