The Charter of Trust members include a "who's who" of global brands, all well-known as best in-class – the largest, the most admired, the most sustainable, the best places to work, the most recognized, and now, all are being lauded as companies dedicated to using digitalization as a path for securing the future.
Siemens, and the 11 Charter of Trust members, today welcomed Cisco, Dell Technologies, Total and TÜV SÜD AG to its global cybersecurity initiative during National Infrastructure Week in Washington, D.C.
Siemens President and CEO, Joe Kaeser, was joined at a signing ceremony by Michael Timmeny, SVP & Chief Government Strategy Officer of Cisco; Michael Dell, Chairman & CEO, Dell Technologies; Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO, Total, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Stepken, Chairman of the Board of Management of TÜV SÜD AG.
With the theme “Building our future, building our infrastructure,” the 6th annual National Infrastructure Week is a week of events and advocacy to elevate infrastructure as a critical issue impacting America’s economy, society, security and future.
“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here, and it’s not just about technology,” says Kaeser. “A digital transformation is taking place across industry and society, where physical and virtual worlds are integrated through new technologies like the digital twin, data analytics, 3D printing and artificial intelligence. Today, data is more relevant than ever, but the challenge arises as to securing this data, and the infrastructure that creates it. The Charter of Trust global cybersecurity initiative is designed to prevent harm to people, businesses, infrastructure and assets by establishing a reliable basis upon which the Fourth Industrial Revolution can be built on,” Kaeser added.
The Charter of Trust represents an unprecedented cybersecurity initiative based on ten principles. The Charter of Trust was announced at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in February, and signed by a group of founding companies, including Airbus, Allianz, Daimler Group, IBM, MSC, NXP, SGS and Deutsche Telekom. During CERAWeek in March, The AES Corporation, Enel and Atos joined the group. The new Charter of Trust members include Cisco, a worldwide technology leader based in San Jose, CA; Dell Technologies (Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, SecureWorks, Virtustream and VMware), which provides essential infrastructure from the edge to the core to the cloud; Total, a French multinational integrated oil and gas company and one of the seven “supermajor” oil companies in the world, and Munich-based TÜV SÜD AG, a leader in testing, inspection and certification services.
“Trust is essential, and for nearly a decade the Cisco Security and Trust Office has operationalized many similar principles as those found in the Charter of Trust,” says John N. Stewart, SVP and Chief Security and Trust Officer, Cisco. “Our company applies strong protections for our customers, employees and stakeholders by embedding security into our solutions, operations and across our value chain, developing and following open global standards, and continuously striving to earn and maintain our customers’ trust every day. In joining the Charter of Trust, we feel that working together with industry peers will accelerate these goals and make the world a better place.”
Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO, Dell Technologies added: “By joining the Charter of Trust and partnering with other leading technology providers, we can help realize the promise of technology innovation to drive human progress while protecting people and securing their data in this digitally connected world.”
“Cyber security is a paramount topic for companies, as cyber-attacks are steadily increasing,” says Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO, Total. “The consequences of a successful cyber-attack can be extremely harmful: it can impact the safety of our staff and facilities, degrade our finances, reveal the private data of our customers or even damage our reputation. By the nature of its industrial activities and the issues at stake, a company like Total is more than willing to sign The Charter of Trust, whose principles make it an unprecedented cybersecurity initiative.”
“All evolving business ecosystems come along with more digital interaction, deeper value chain integration and ever more interdependencies between participants,” says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Stepken, Chairman of the Board of Management, TÜV SÜD AG. “Cyber security will be crucial to making business reliable, sustainable and secure. We are pleased to be a member of the Charter of Trust and contribute to this initiative by protecting critical systems and large volumes of sensitive data for our customers’ business continuity, building trust in the digital world of today and tomorrow.”
The Charter of Trust members are taking the next steps to define the organization’s structure and take action upon its ten principles, including topics such as ownership of cybersecurity, supply chains, security by default, user-centricity, co-creation, workforce training, certification for critical infrastructure, transparency and response, regulatory framework and joint initiatives.
As a highlight to National Infrastructure Week, cybersecurity experts from industry, government, academia and research gathered together today for a thought leadership event hosted by Bloomberg titled “The Future of Cybersecurity: Risk and Resiliency Across Critical Infrastructure.” Leaders discussed how technology, workforce education and investment are needed to secure tomorrow’s future.
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Contribution to the EU Commission Public Consultation on the revision of the Cybersecurity Act
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External Engagement
Contribution to the EU Commission Public Consultation on the revision of the Cybersecurity Act
The Charter of Trust welcomes the opportunity to participate in the European Commission’s public consultation on the revision of the Cybersecurity Act. As a coalition united by the goal of strengthening digital trust, we are pleased to share our consolidated response and recommendations.
We support Policy Option 2, which focuses on targeted regulatory measures that address key challenges without creating unnecessary complexity. In this context, we emphasize the need to enhance the role and resources of ENISA, to ensure effective implementation of both current legislation and the European Cybersecurity Certification Framework (ECCF).
Our recommendations aim to improve transparency, collaboration, and efficiency across the EU’s cybersecurity landscape. These include:
- Introducing clear timelines for the development of certification schemes.
- Enhancing stakeholder engagement throughout the process.
- Establishing more structured communication channels between ENISA, the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group (SCCG), and sectoral ISACs (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers).
We call for a stronger ECCF, one that is transparent, inclusive, and aligned with international standards to foster global interoperability and ease compliance for organizations across borders. Equally critical is the harmonization of certification practices across EU member states and the mutual recognition of certifications to minimize regulatory fragmentation.
The Charter of Trust advocates for technically robust, standards-based certification schemes, with well-defined roles and responsibilities. We also stress the need for clarity on the interplay between voluntary and mandatory certifications, particularly in relation to the upcoming Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).
To streamline compliance and reduce administrative burden, we propose a unified, risk-based incident reporting regime that consolidates requirements under regulations such as NIS2, CRA, GDPR, and DORA. This would not only simplify reporting for organizations but also enhance the EU’s overall cyber resilience. In addition, we recommend incorporating liability protections and grace periods for incident disclosure.
Finally, we urge the Commission to strengthen supply chain security by adopting a risk-based classification approach and establishing baseline cybersecurity requirements for ICT suppliers.
The Charter of Trust remains fully committed to supporting the European Commission in shaping a secure, resilient, and trusted digital future for Europe. We look forward to continued collaboration in building a cybersecurity framework that meets the needs of all stakeholders, today and in the years to come.
We support Policy Option 2, which focuses on targeted regulatory measures that address key challenges without creating unnecessary complexity. In this context, we emphasize the need to enhance the role and resources of ENISA, to ensure effective implementation of both current legislation and the European Cybersecurity Certification Framework (ECCF).
Our recommendations aim to improve transparency, collaboration, and efficiency across the EU’s cybersecurity landscape. These include:
- Introducing clear timelines for the development of certification schemes.
- Enhancing stakeholder engagement throughout the process.
- Establishing more structured communication channels between ENISA, the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group (SCCG), and sectoral ISACs (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers).
We call for a stronger ECCF, one that is transparent, inclusive, and aligned with international standards to foster global interoperability and ease compliance for organizations across borders. Equally critical is the harmonization of certification practices across EU member states and the mutual recognition of certifications to minimize regulatory fragmentation.
The Charter of Trust advocates for technically robust, standards-based certification schemes, with well-defined roles and responsibilities. We also stress the need for clarity on the interplay between voluntary and mandatory certifications, particularly in relation to the upcoming Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).
To streamline compliance and reduce administrative burden, we propose a unified, risk-based incident reporting regime that consolidates requirements under regulations such as NIS2, CRA, GDPR, and DORA. This would not only simplify reporting for organizations but also enhance the EU’s overall cyber resilience. In addition, we recommend incorporating liability protections and grace periods for incident disclosure.
Finally, we urge the Commission to strengthen supply chain security by adopting a risk-based classification approach and establishing baseline cybersecurity requirements for ICT suppliers.
The Charter of Trust remains fully committed to supporting the European Commission in shaping a secure, resilient, and trusted digital future for Europe. We look forward to continued collaboration in building a cybersecurity framework that meets the needs of all stakeholders, today and in the years to come.
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June 19, 2025
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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.
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May 01, 2025
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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
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