Technology

To reflect the complex international security landscape, all activities of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) are guided by five program areas: Defense, Global Order, Human Security, Sustainability, and Technology. These programs address both conventional issues as well as emerging security concerns and offer the intellectual backbone to all our events and publications. For all five program areas, the MSC is working with renowned partners from around the world.

Technology increasingly permeates every aspect of how states, societies, and individuals pursue their interests. The ability to gather and harness data, drive innovation, and adopt key technologies has not only become the conditio sine qua non of economic success, but also a decisive factor in the systemic competition between democracies and autocracies. The consequences for security policy are compounded by the sheer speed of change and disruptive potential of many new technologies. There is also growing awareness regarding the vulnerabilities of technologies and critical infrastructure relevant for national security such as satellites, undersea cables, and pipelines.

The list of challenges for policymakers is long and growing fast. It includes maintaining an open and trustworthy information environment, protecting increasingly digitized critical infrastructure, enabling military and intelligence interoperability, managing the use of ground-breaking innovations, ensuring supply chain security in crucial sectors such as semiconductors, diversifying strategic production capabilities, preventing and managing new arms races, and agreeing on joint standards for the cyber domain.

With its Technology Program, the MSC aims to advance the debate on the regulation, governance, and use of technology to promote inclusive security and global cooperation. To that end, various MSC event formats, publications, and initiatives like the Security Innovation Board or the Charter of Trust seek to bridge the worlds of technology, politics, and security by facilitating productive exchanges between decision-makers and experts at the highest level.

Topics from the Technology Program are regularly covered in the annual Munich Security Report (MSR). Additionally, the MSC regularly publishes Munich Security Briefs and MSR Special Editions on related issues.

At the annual flagship conference in Munich, technology topics are regularly the focus of panel discussions and a growing number of side events.

In addition, the MSC organizes numerous events as part of the Technology Program, which vary in scope and size.

MSC Summits assemble an audience of up to 100 high-profile representatives from government, academia, the military, the private sector and civil society for 24 to 48 hours of open and frank debates with a particular thematic focus. MSC Summits are held on-the-record or under Chatham House rule.

MSC Roundtables bring together an intimate group of up to 35 participants for an interactive debate on a specific security policy challenge. Roundtables are held under Chatham House rule or off-the-record and take place throughout the year, frequently alongside other MSC events, such as the Munich Leaders Meetings and the Munich Security Conference.

MSC Conversations are small, confidential meetings featuring a selected high-level speaker and a group of up to 40 participants, including senior experts, thinkers, and decision-makers. MSC Conversations are typically held under Chatham House rule, but selected events can be open to the public.

The MSC also occasionally provides a platform for discussion papers that aim to further the debate on technology policy issues, such as the recent discussion paper "Security Proofing the European & Transatlantic Tech Agendas".

On September 6, 2023, the Munich Security Conference organized a Roundtable on cyber security and tech regulation at the Bavarian Representation to the European Union in Brussels. In two sessions, participants discussed the EU’s recent tech regulation initiatives, their impact on (cyber) security, and opportunities for transatlantic cooperation in this area.

Summary