Professor Stefan Katzenbeisser
How can critical infrastructures in a networked world be protected against cyber attacks?
How can critical infrastructures in a networked world be protected against cyber attacks?
Professor Stefan Katzenbeisser holds the Chair of Computer Engineering at the University of Passau. He researches cyber security in embedded systems, critical infrastructures and technical data protection. He is spokesperson of the research cluster "ForDaySec - Security in everyday digitalisation", which is funded by the Bavarian Science Ministry. Besides participating in research projects on secure mobility, he is also involved in the research initiative "6G Research and Innovation Cluster (6G-RIC)". Since November 2023, Professor Katzenbeisser has been a representative of the DFG Review Board “Security and Dependability, Operating, Communication and Distributed Systems”.
I would call much of what the media labels as cyberwar, like the Anonymous campaigns, digital protest. Not every cyberattack should be considered the onset of a cyberwar. I would use the term very cautiously as well. Because it can have devastating consequences for all those involved. To me, the risk is that a "real" cyberwar will dramatically affect the civilian population.
The development of the malicious computer worm Stuxnet in 2010 is frequently thought to mark the beginning of the cyberwar era. The US and Israel allegedly developed this malware to damage Iran's nuclear programme. What made this so special for IT security experts like me was that it's a cyber weapon which operates completely autonomously. Finally, the situation we had always been warning about had occurred. The military considers this first actual application to have been quite a success, even if the development costs are thought to have been exorbitantly high. Also, there was hardly any collateral damage.
But that's exactly what's so problematic about cyberwar and makes it so very dangerous. It is near impossible to distinguish civilian from military targets. Cyberwar revolves around just one question: How do I hit my enemy so that he can no longer wage war? Hence, it's about mounting targeted attacks on critical infrastructure, including electricity networks, the public administration, telecommunications, traffic and transport. And when you do that, it doesn't take much for the situation to deteriorate and the civilian population to be hit hard.
Many operators have yet to implement basic IT security requirements and enable their systems to identify attacks in the first place
Professor Stefan Katzenbeisser
Attribution is another problem. It becomes difficult to determine who carried out the initial attack. The attackers have an easy time erasing their footprints and setting people on the wrong track. It doesn't take much to conduct asymmetric attacks, which means that small groups can cause enormous damage.
So protecting critical infrastructures is essential. To my mind, Western countries are not taking this seriously enough. From what I've seen, security levels vary significantly. For historical reasons, power utilities are somewhat ahead of the crowd. Other infrastructures, including those in telecommunications or healthcare, still have a long way to go. Many operators have yet to implement basic IT security requirements and enable their systems to identify attacks in the first place. There have been cases where attackers were able to move around in a system for months without being spotted.
Protecting an entire system is much more difficult than carrying out individual attacks. Unlike the attacker, the defender has to get it right every time and thwart all the attacks. There are still lots of loopholes in many different areas and this makes the systems so vulnerable.
The measures taken by the European Union in terms of cybersecurity are patchy. The EU should develop joint standards and pool best practices. But it is really for the individual operator of a critical infrastructure to do the actual work and ensure actual implementation."
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