This European Union (EU) and NATO They promised this Thursday increase collaborations to protect critical energy, transportation, digital or space infrastructures that they describe as “vulnerable” to possible attacks.
This is particularly evident in the report released this Thursday by the two agency working groups on the resilience of critical infrastructures as a result of sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
The study argues that: Need to “increase commitment” between the EU and NATO, especially “serious danger or significant change in security context”and to promote cooperation between allies, member states as well as the private sector.
For this, it offers the support of the European Center of Excellence in the fight against hybrid threats.
Likewise, the report calls for the strengthening of structured dialogues between the two sides on resilience and military mobility and the broadening of contacts between cyberspace, maritime transport and energy, and between NATO’s International Joint Chiefs of Staff and the EU Joint Chiefs of Staff.
ask also Raising awareness of the security implications of being involved in or controlling critical infrastructure Potential risks associated with “strategic competitor” organizations as well as providers in these countries, eg 5G networks.
Finally, it requires promoting “best practices and assessments” and improving oversight of participation and cooperation on security issues, including between civil and military actors, as well as periodically conducting parallel and coordinated assessments of threats to critical infrastructures.
Throughout the report, the EU and NATO working group warns of the “vulnerability” of energy, transport, digital and space infrastructures.
accepts this “Energy security is more difficult in the current geopolitical environment” Because the and energy infrastructures are interconnected, a disturbance in a particular location “could have broader repercussions”.
Although Russia has reduced its energy dependence, the EU warns that “new infrastructures and connections also pose new challenges” to protect allies and countries.
“As many of its critical components continue to be concentrated largely outside of NATO and the EU, increased reliance on renewable energy also brings potential vulnerabilities in the supply chain,” he emphasizes.
The study notes that when it comes to transportation, airports and seaports, among other infrastructures, are vulnerable to cyberattacks that could cause significant economic damage and possibly disrupt their use by the military.
particularly emphasizes that They are infrastructures that are becoming more and more dependent on the electricity grid and increasingly digitized..
Regarding digital infrastructure, he notes that reliance on undersea cables and 5G networks “poses risk” due to “limited repair capabilities and increased vulnerability.”
Additionally, digital infrastructure depends on global supply chains that are “vulnerable to accidental and deliberate disruptions.”
Regarding space infrastructure, he notes that both space-based assets and ground systems can be “vulnerable to a variety of natural and man-made hazards.”
It states that space assets can be owned and operated by the EU (such as the Galileo or Copernicus systems), Member States, Allies and, increasingly, commercial entities.
In this context, “strategic competitors and potential adversaries are developing counter-space capabilities that could threaten NATO and EU access to space and freedom to operate in space”, which in turn “could break critical infrastructure”.