Microsoft has joined the Charter of Trust (CoT) cybersecurity initiative as of November 10, 2022. As a CoT member, Microsoft plans to contribute its cybersecurity expertise in developing and promoting awareness of robust security principles for a secure digital world. With the addition of Microsoft, the Charter of Trust initiative has grown to 18 members.
“The Charter of Trust embodies the values we at Microsoft take seriously: being proactive, open, transparent, and collaborative in developing cybersecurity best practices and enhancing trust,” said Tom Burt, Corporate Vice President of Customer Security & Trust at Microsoft. “Industry partnership is crucial to addressing the challenges we face today, and we look forward to working with the Charter’s members to drive forward strategies and initiatives that strengthen cybersecurity.”
“Cybersecurity is the key to building people’s confidence in digitalization,” said Cedrik Neike, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Digital Industries. “By bringing Microsoft on board, the Charter of Trust is, again, gaining considerably more weight for making our connected world more resilient and for shaping our digital future.”
Over the last four years, the Charter of Trust has already launched a wealth of measures to enhance cybersecurity – including the “Security by Default” principle, which takes cybersecurity into account right from the design phase and provides products with preconfigured security measures. In addition, the CoT partners have defined baseline requirements for their suppliers in order to further enhance cybersecurity throughout supply chains. The primary focus in the next phase will be on implementing a cross-industry approach to evaluate supply-chain security. In this context, the growing Charter of Trust community will provide companies – mainly small and medium-sized businesses – with information, training and further resources.
The CoT initiative collaborates regularly with various global authorities and scientific institutions to also drive advances in cybersecurity internationally and harmonize efforts across national borders and organizational boundaries. For this purpose, the CoT initiative has created the Associated Partner Forum, which has been joined by institutions such as the German Federal Office for Information Security, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC), the Canadian Centre for Cybersecurity and the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering GmbH (HPI) in Germany.
At the Munich Security Conference in February 2018, Siemens and eight partners from the industrial sector signed the world’s first joint charter for greater cybersecurity. In addition to Siemens and the Munich Security Conference, the signatories include AES, Airbus, Allianz, Atos, Bosch, Dell Technologies, Deutsche Post DHL Group, IBM, Infineon Technologies AG, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, NTT, NXP Semiconductors, SGS, TotalEnergies, TÜV SÜD – and now Microsoft.
PREVIOUS POST
UK/EU Summit - “Risk to Resilience”
NEXT POST
Advancing Regulatory Alignment at RSA Conference 2025
You may also like
External Engagement
Advancing Regulatory Alignment at RSA Conference 2025
In the face of rising global cyber threats, over 50 CISOs have called for greater international alignment of cybersecurity regulations to strengthen defenses and reduce fragmentation. This message was echoed at RSAC 2025, where experts from the OECD, European Commission, academia, and industry emphasized the need for principle-based collaboration. The Charter of Trust, a long-time advocate for regulatory harmonization, continues to support coordinated, effective approaches that prioritize clarity over complexity.
Read more
May 01, 2025
•
External Engagement
Richards Skalt takes over the Advocacy Workstream
We are delighted to welcome Richard Skalt, Advocacy Manager at TÜV SÜD, as the new Leader of the Advocacy Workstream at the Charter of Trust. Richard steps into the role following María del Pino González-Junco, who recently assumed the position of Chair of the Global External Engagement Working Group.
With a strong background in advocacy and a forward-looking vision, Richard brings renewed energy to our mission of shaping a secure digital future. As he puts it:
“My motivation is to preserve and build upon the strong foundation of advocacy activities we’ve developed over the past years. At the same time, I’m committed to ensuring we’re in a position to shape the policies that will define how our business model and operations evolve in the future – including the cybersecurity of products and systems, the use, deployment, and distribution of robust AI solutions, as well as cloud security and secure datacenters.”
In a world defined by accelerating digital transformation and increasingly complex regulatory challenges, principled leadership and effective collaboration are more vital than ever. Under Richard’s leadership, the Advocacy Workstream will continue to engage policymakers, raise public awareness, and strengthen education around key issues such as cybersecurity, AI governance, and secure digital infrastructures.
With a strong background in advocacy and a forward-looking vision, Richard brings renewed energy to our mission of shaping a secure digital future. As he puts it:
“My motivation is to preserve and build upon the strong foundation of advocacy activities we’ve developed over the past years. At the same time, I’m committed to ensuring we’re in a position to shape the policies that will define how our business model and operations evolve in the future – including the cybersecurity of products and systems, the use, deployment, and distribution of robust AI solutions, as well as cloud security and secure datacenters.”
In a world defined by accelerating digital transformation and increasingly complex regulatory challenges, principled leadership and effective collaboration are more vital than ever. Under Richard’s leadership, the Advocacy Workstream will continue to engage policymakers, raise public awareness, and strengthen education around key issues such as cybersecurity, AI governance, and secure digital infrastructures.
Read more
April 29, 2025
•
External Engagement
New Chairwoman for the Global External Engagement Group
The Charter of Trust is proud to announce María del Pino González-Junco, Cybersecurity Alliances Manager at Siemens, as the new Chairwoman of the Global External Engagement Working Group. Her appointment marks a significant step forward in our shared mission to advance cybersecurity through strong international collaboration.
Pino’s election follows a dynamic Collaboration Week in Denmark, where Charter of Trust partners from around the world came together to align on strategy, strengthen partnerships, and reaffirm our commitment to a secure digital future. As a longstanding leader within the advocacy workstream, Pino has been instrumental in fostering open dialogue with key external stakeholders and promoting cybersecurity awareness across industries and institutions.
“A reliable digital world can only thrive if public and private institutions build trust and cyber-resilience together, share their expertise, and support society in this digital journey. Those are our goals at the Charter of Trust,” says Pino.
She takes over the role from Sumit Chanda, COO/CISO at Atos, who has guided the working group with vision and energy. We are pleased to share that Dr Chanda has since been elected Co-Chair of the Charter of Trust by the Board of Directors in February—ensuring his continued impact on the initiative’s strategic direction.
We extend our sincere thanks to Sumit for his outstanding leadership and warmly congratulate Pino on her new role.
Pino’s election follows a dynamic Collaboration Week in Denmark, where Charter of Trust partners from around the world came together to align on strategy, strengthen partnerships, and reaffirm our commitment to a secure digital future. As a longstanding leader within the advocacy workstream, Pino has been instrumental in fostering open dialogue with key external stakeholders and promoting cybersecurity awareness across industries and institutions.
“A reliable digital world can only thrive if public and private institutions build trust and cyber-resilience together, share their expertise, and support society in this digital journey. Those are our goals at the Charter of Trust,” says Pino.
She takes over the role from Sumit Chanda, COO/CISO at Atos, who has guided the working group with vision and energy. We are pleased to share that Dr Chanda has since been elected Co-Chair of the Charter of Trust by the Board of Directors in February—ensuring his continued impact on the initiative’s strategic direction.
We extend our sincere thanks to Sumit for his outstanding leadership and warmly congratulate Pino on her new role.
Read more
April 24, 2025
•
