![](typo3temp/pics/e61d4e0feb.jpg)
Berlin, 4. April 2012 – The Federal Government Commissioner for Information Technology, Cornelia Rogall-Grothe, has taken over patronage of the LinuxTag 2012. In her welcome speech at Europe’s leading exhibition and conference about Linux and Open Source she stated: “Free software, open standards and their importance for the administration and the German IT-industry, as well as for small- and medium-sized enterprises are still one of my major concerns”. The state secretary of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Cornelia Rogall-Grothe, continued, “The German Federation has picked up the topic at an early stage and is advocating for improved interoperability not only in Germany, but throughout Europe. “ Thus the openness of a standard has become the main selection criterion the Federal Government in the selection of new standards and specifications to be recognised, according to the framework of the SAGA 5, which was adopted at the end of last year. “In the aspect of our cyber-security efforts, I also see valuable contributions for information security in the development of free software. In this context it is indispensable that users maintain exclusive control and ownership of their systems and data.” Rogall-Grothe continued, “This is the only way that the goals of confidentiality and integrity can permanently be maintained. And at the same time we can achieve investment protection, continued security, software diversity and flexibility – which is why I am supporting the LinuxTag 2012.”
About the LinuxTag
The LinuxTag is Europe’s leading exhibition and conference about topics relating to Linux and Open Source. The four-day event has been taking place since 1996, and since 2007 annually on the Berlin exhibition centre. It offers news for professional users, decision-makers, developers, first-time users and the community. The registered association LinuxTag is the ideal host for the event and organises it together with the Messe Berlin PLC. For more information please visit http://www.linuxtag.org/2012/en.html.