Andreas Feicht, chief executive of Cologne-based utility Rheinenergie, warned that Germany urgently needs better protection for critical infrastructure. “We need a different culture” he told the Focus news magazine. “In the past, safeguarding critical infrastructure has essentially mattered little”. He added that everyone can now view online where the nation’s networks and the pivotal points of its energy supply lie, and that the federal government’s Kritis umbrella law is meant to address this issue properly.
Feicht also called for enhanced monitoring of critical assets through advanced technology. “We must observe the infrastructure more closely, using drones and AI. And we all need to better prepare for what to do if an attack succeeds” he said. “We have to get out of our comfort zone”.
Rheinenergie has recorded a sharp increase in hybrid and cyber‑attacks on its infrastructure. “We see several thousand attacks per day-sometimes originating from the internet, targeting our control systems, which remain excellently protected. These can come from both criminals and state actors” Feicht told Focus. “Recently, we spotted two drones over our power plants, which also sit within industrial belts that contain other targets. The number of security‑relevant incidents is rising, but we are continually improving and retrofitting our infrastructure to the best of our ability”.