Explosions on pipelines, sabotage on the train: With regard to the susceptibility of our systems, diffuse dangers are currently becoming real concerns. Which fear is justified? How vulnerable is the population? The security measures in check.

Infrastructure has been at risk for as long as it has existed: natural disasters and human error have always been able to lead to outages. Criminal energy has also existed for a very long time. Terrorism was added over the centuries and sabotage in the late 19th century when French workers threw their clogs – sabots – into the threshing machines.

Since the war in Ukraine, even state action has become a very real threat. After the detonations on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, Germany is debating how safe it is. Above all, it is about the critical infrastructure. Security politicians say publicly that the threat has grown and may continue to grow. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) also sees an “increased threat situation” for Germany and expects that in principle all systems of the critical infrastructure can be a “potential target of attacks”.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) warned yesterday of a “changed, hybrid threat situation”. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) announced “stronger and more resilient infrastructure” as part of the National Security Strategy. This is also necessary, according to AG Kritis, the working group on critical infrastructures. This is a working group of experts that independently reviews the IT security and resilience of critical infrastructures. Their opinion is divided: Germany is not bad in an international comparison, but it could be better. Many precautions happen too slowly, higher safety standards “have been overslept”. The seven threat areas at a glance:

A use of Russian nuclear weapons in Ukraine would also endanger Germany – and this fear has grown in recent weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to do so. Bruno Kahl, President of the German foreign intelligence service BND, said on Monday at a public hearing of the Parliamentary Control Committee: “At the moment we do not see any preparations for the use of strategic or tactical nuclear weapons.” Together with the USA, Russia has the most nuclear warheads. The long-range weapons were quickly ready for use, but the so-called tactical nuclear weapons are still in storage, which is important for the BND’s assessment. The deposits are permanently monitored by satellites. In addition, Russia’s troops in Ukraine would not appear to be provided with NBC equipment, which would be typical if Russia were planning a nuclear strike. NATO’s deterrence is very high, its countermeasures would hit Russia existentially.

According to BND President Kahl, the situation is no reason to relax: “He is prepared now to accept the military, economic and political costs of a war of aggression against Ukraine, because if he does not act, the costs for Russia in the future are clear to him appear higher, which would result from Ukraine’s further rapprochement with the West and NATO.” The head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, also sees a greater risk of escalation as a result of the advance of the Ukrainian army: “A turning point has actually occurred. As a game changer, this unprecedented aggression will indefinitely dominate all security-related policy areas.”

Whether pipelines for oil and gas or cables for internet and telephony: the world under water is particularly difficult to protect. Especially when, like Germany, you have significantly fewer submarines than you need for them – as experts from the federal government have repeatedly calculated. Even the tens of thousands of sensors installed by the Nord Stream operator only showed the danger when it was too late. NATO is playing out scenarios in which Russian submarines cut undersea cables between the US and Europe, which could shut down a significant portion of international internet communications. Surprisingly, undersea cables have not yet been part of the infrastructure that is given special protection in the federal government’s so-called Kritis Ordinance. According to the BSI, the operators of the line routes are responsible for monitoring. Opposition politicians are calling on the government to become more active here.

Even after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the potential threat to the German energy grid was discussed, with the result that an act of sabotage against the power grid would affect many people and therefore represents the greatest risk. And it takes little imagination to see how endangered the construction of overhead power lines is. Second, refineries and power plants are vulnerable targets. Third, the risk of flying an airplane into a nuclear power plant, as happened with the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, has been discussed for 20 years.

The FOCUS Online partner remind.me switches you automatically to the best provider every year and that 100% free of charge (advertisement)

The Federal Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) considers widespread failures in the energy and water supply to be “very unlikely”. Nevertheless, the damage potential of such a scenario is enormous and “could have substantial consequences”. AG Kritis also considers the power grid to be well positioned compared to other sectors. The water supply is different. Penetration tests have revealed gaps in water management. However, since the industry consists of many small providers, the risk to the population is relatively low.

The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) describes the energy infrastructure as “abstract endangered”. Because the danger is not just of a physical nature: cyber attacks on power grids are more diffuse, but no less relevant. 100% protection is not guaranteed here. The gas network is currently particularly at risk. The DVGW association, which is responsible for its safety standards, takes the warnings very seriously, but feels overwhelmed with prevention and protection and is therefore asking the state for help.

The sheer number of cell towers on land and the fact that vast amounts of copper and fiber optic cables are buried underground make a physical attack on the cellular network unlikely. Apart from the vulnerability of the underwater cables for Internet and telephone connections, the German networks are considered to be above-average secure. However, there is no such thing as 100 percent protection. The focus is always on the German Commercial Internet Exchange, DE-CIX for short. This is the largest Internet node in the world, located in Frankfurt am Main.

But even if it were destroyed, the consequences would be manageable: the internet would work more slowly in parts of the EU and Germany, and some content would probably be gone. But “the Internet” is 65,000 individual networks. This decentralization reduces the risk. The Federal Government bundles its measures in the Cyber ​​Security Strategy 2021 and has brought all players on board, including science and industry. In addition, the Bundeswehr has set up its own department and is increasing its staff.

The financial sector has long been a target of cyberattacks. The provision of cash, card-based payments, online transfers, securities trading and insurance services are part of the specially protected infrastructure and are subject to close controls. The widespread failure of ATMs could quickly lead to panic among the population. The data lying dormant at banks, insurance companies and the like is highly sensitive and offers the potential for blackmail if it falls into the wrong hands. The global financial sector is aware of its enormous responsibility and the sensitivity of its data. Crime has always been a test for him. The threat from Russian hackers, for example, could continue to increase. Experts point out that not all banks can keep up with the constantly growing network and risk and have adequate security standards.

The most recent sabotage attack on the railway facilities in Herne and Berlin have shown how vulnerable the infrastructure is in freight traffic. On October 8, there was an hour-long outage because cables were severed along the railway systems. In response, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that the protection of train stations and facilities would be improved. For example, the number of surveillance cameras should increase to 11,000. Such measures improve security and make sabotage more difficult – but this does not make it impossible by any means.

Since comprehensive monitoring is practically impossible, it is important to prevent individual faults from immediately leading to a major failure. Here the track does not seem to work perfectly, since it is enough to cut two cables.

The logistics industry is reporting increased attacks on their IT systems, but mostly by criminals with the aim of extorting ransom. Effects on the population are not to be feared. Ship traffic also coped well with individual failures. The protection of ports and airports has been a major issue for the Bundeswehr since 9/11 and is now being intensified again. But the same applies here: There can be no such thing as absolute security.

Providing the citizens of Germany with sufficient food, like health care, is very closely related to the security of energy, transport and the Internet. Hospitals are sensitive entities. Hacker attacks have shown how comparatively easily enormous damage can occur here and the security of many facilities is not considered optimal. In addition, hospitals need electricity. Medicines or organs must be cooled, also during transport. In Germany, the infrastructure is considered good in this regard, but as described above, it cannot be 100 percent secured either.

The article “Germany’s infrastructure is at risk” comes from WirtschaftsKurier.