Microsoft and German government agree on security

Microsoft Corp. has agreed to help the German government protect critical IT operations in its vast public sector.

Under the agreement reached Monday, Microsoft and the Federal Office for Information Security will collaborate through an intensive exchange of information in the areas of IT security, interoperability and openness, the U.S. software company and the Federal Ministry of the Interior said in separate statements.

The agreement was signed in Berlin by Microsoft Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Steve Ballmer and Federal Minister Otto Schily.

In his discussion with Ballmer, Schily emphasized the need for Microsoft products, which play a huge role in Germany’s e-government programs, to be interoperable with the offerings of other vendors and with open source software, the federal ministry said.

The German minster applauded Microsoft’s decision to develop a .NET version of the OSCI (Online Services Computer Interface) protocol developed in Germany for secure legal transactions of e-government services and its support of the Computer Emergency Response Team for German medium-size enterprises (Mcert), the ministry said.

In the area of IT security, Germany plays a leading role in Europe, Ballmer said.

In January, Microsoft and the Federal Ministry of the Interior agreed to extend their existing license framework agreement enabling federal, state and city governments in Germany to purchase Microsoft products at favorable prices.

The U.S. software giant has shown a high level of flexibility in its license conditions ever since the German government struck an agreement in 2002 with IBM Corp. to supply new computers with open-source software.