German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) announced Monday that it establishes new research in the field of Big Data and IT security in the country.

Two Big Data competence centres will be set up in Berlin and Dresden this year, with a total of around 10 million euros (13.9 million U.S. dollars) as funds for this project, according to the announcement of the BMBF.

"The amount of data grow rapidly in our digital society. We must therefore learn, how to deal with them properly," said Education and Research Minister Johanna Wanka at German CeBIT tech fair 2014, one of the world's largest IT fairs in Hannover.

"Firstly, we need to develop tools, with which useful knowledge can be generated based on plain data. Especially technological progress must ensure that we can move safely and self-determined in the digital world. This affects individuals as well as companies," said the minister.

The BMBF will also invest a sum of 20-million-euro fund to launch new research projects, focusing on studies of big data in industrial production, life sciences and Earth sciences.

The BMBF said issues of data protection, privacy and IT security will play an active role in the new projects.

Wanka also referred to three already successfully established IT security research centers in Germany, which have developed recognized partners in matters of IT security in Germany and Europe and will also serve as role models for the new competence centers of Big Data.

"I expect a close cooperation between all centers. IT Security Research and Big Data must be conceived together," Wanka said.

The BMBF has intensified its support for the research on IT security in Germany since 2009, aiming to better protect the economy and private Internet users from cyber attacks and so to strengthen Germany's competitiveness.