{"id":7125,"date":"2023-04-28T12:28:37","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T12:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.securitytoday.de\/2026\/04\/02\/post_id-3229\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T19:05:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T19:05:58","slug":"how-to-prevent-cyberattacks-on-critical-infrastructures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.securitytoday.de\/en\/2023\/04\/28\/how-to-prevent-cyberattacks-on-critical-infrastructures\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prevent Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructures"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service, a cyberattack through flooding with malicious traffic) on German airports, state authorities, and the police in spring 2023 show: The vulnerability of critical infrastructures (KRITIS) is more acute than ever. Even the first wave in autumn 2022 (including attacks on Nord Stream pipelines) was alarming.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How vulnerable are critical infrastructures, and what measures must companies and organizations mandatorily take to protect themselves? The KRITIS whitepaper by Link11 and Schalast, \u201cCritical Infrastructures in the Crosshairs,\u201d provides an overview.<\/p>\n

In addition to physical sabotage or accidents, cyberattacks on these systems have primarily increased in 2022\/23. According to a Bitkom study, 51 percent of critical infrastructure operators even expect a further increase in the near future. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) therefore states in its current situation report: The threat level is \u201chigher than ever.\u201d No wonder, then, that regulation by the EU and the federal government is constantly increasing.<\/p>\n

Critical infrastructures – including the sectors of energy, finance, health, telecommunications, government and administration, transportation, or water – are essential for the functioning of our society and economy. For this very reason, they are also in the focus of cybercriminals:<\/p>\n

Attackers can steal data, extort money, and cause physical damage. With far-reaching consequences: million-euro production outages and supply shortages that can endanger or even cost human lives. The damage alone for the German economy in 2022 amounted to around 203 billion Euro. This can affect corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, the administration, and civil society alike. For the affected population, cyberattacks on KRITIS mean direct damage to public supply.<\/p>\n

In view of increasing cyberattacks, operators of critical infrastructures and companies must deal more intensively with digital threats and protection mechanisms. Because as soon as it’s about more than ransom, cyberattacks can not only impair business capability (data loss and manipulation or reputational damage) but also affect society as a whole. Companies should therefore structure their IT systems so that an attack has only minimal impact and critical parts of the network cannot be reached.<\/p>\n

Lisa Fr\u00f6hlich (Corporate Spokesperson Link11) comments:<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause KRITIS are so important to our lives, pronounced and constantly evolving regulations from the federal government and the EU set the framework for the necessary IT security. At the same time, the recent series of DDoS attacks in Germany shows that effective DDoS protection is indispensable so that operators of critical infrastructures are not impaired by such attacks.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

This graphic shows more about the results of the report:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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TL;DR<\/h2>\n