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Towards a Layer Model for Digital Sovereignty: A Holistic Approach

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Critical Information Infrastructures Security (CRITIS 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13723))

Abstract

Digital sovereignty has gained interest in the political field and in the public discourse. This discussion paper addresses “digital sovereignty” from various academic disciplines in a holistic analysis approach: In the discussion of digital sovereignty, the question arises whose digital sovereignty is being addressed, what digital sovereignty means for the respective entities, how to increase digital sovereignty and how to build a digital sovereign civil society and its critical infrastructures. We present a layered model to conceptualize the meaning of digital sovereignty on three layers: (1) state or supranational institution, (2) organization, (3) individual as well as the relationships between the three layers. This model provides guidance for research and practice - including policy and decision making - on the complex subject of digital sovereignty. It is a living model and can also be expanded and adapted as more insight is added to this relatively new field. With this article, we share the model with the community and open it up for discussion.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In the General Motors film The Safest Place by Jam Handy.

  2. 2.

    Search performed on Google Scholar - “digital sovereignty” (title only) from 2015 to 2022. Only four out of two hundred fifty seven results could fall into the category organizational digital sovereignty.

  3. 3.

    Examples are the Minimum Cyber Security Standards (MCSS) in the United Kingdom or the BSI IT-Grundschutz in Germany.

  4. 4.

    A specific term used to describe the benefits resulting from public sector funding.

  5. 5.

    e.g. Check24 for financial offers, clevertanken.de for gas prices, Expedia for travel offers.

  6. 6.

    For instance consumer protection agencies.

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Acknowledgements and Contributions

The Project LIONS is funded by dtec.bw - Digitalization and Technology Research Center of the Bundeswehr which we gratefully acknowledge. We also thank the LIONS consortium and our research partners for their contributions to this research activity.

Authors have been listed in alphabetical order. The contributions can be attributed to the coauthors as described below:

– Isabelle Fries contributed additions from a philosophical point of view, as well as for general coherence, and mainly wrote the introduction.

– Maximilian Greiner moderated world café tables and contributed mainly the relationship between state and organization and the state layer.

– Manfred Hofmeier prepared and conducted the world café and contributed research design, discussion and limitations to this article.

– Razvan Hrestic co-organized the world café, and wrote mainly organization layer and relationship between the organization and the individual.

– Ulrike Lechner contributed to the research design, to data collection, data interpretation and the revisions of the article.

– Thomas Wendeborn contributed the individual layer and state of the art on digital sovereignty and definitions of digital sovereignty.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany

    Isabelle Fries, Maximilian Greiner, Manfred Hofmeier, Razvan Hrestic & Ulrike Lechner

  2. Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken, Germany

    Thomas Wendeborn

Authors
  1. Isabelle Fries
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  2. Maximilian Greiner
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  3. Manfred Hofmeier
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  4. Razvan Hrestic
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  5. Ulrike Lechner
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  6. Thomas Wendeborn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Razvan Hrestic .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, Lucerne, Switzerland

    Bernhard Hämmerli

  2. Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany

    Udo Helmbrecht

  3. Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany

    Wolfgang Hommel

  4. Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany

    Leonhard Kunczik

  5. Universität der Bundeswehr München, Neubiberg, Germany

    Stefan Pickl

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Fries, I., Greiner, M., Hofmeier, M., Hrestic, R., Lechner, U., Wendeborn, T. (2023). Towards a Layer Model for Digital Sovereignty: A Holistic Approach. In: Hämmerli, B., Helmbrecht, U., Hommel, W., Kunczik, L., Pickl, S. (eds) Critical Information Infrastructures Security. CRITIS 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13723. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35190-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35190-7_9

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