Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1446249
The key document referring to the crit- ical infrastructure comes in a form of the aforesaid Act on Crisis Management, which is aligned with the biannually up- dated (starting from 2013) National Plan for Protecting the Critical Infrastructure [Narodowy Plan Ochrony Infrastruk- tury Krytycznej (NPOIK)], and its at- tachments. The said appendices contain characteristics of the systems forming the Polish critical infrastructure, good practices, and recommendations tied to the Critical Infrastructure facilities, and other, yet practical information. Critical Infrastructure is defined as fa- cilities and services required for the functioning of modern society and its institutions. This includes energy infra- structure, energy, and fuel resources, communication systems, ICT networks, financial systems, food supply systems, water supply systems, healthcare, transport and rescue systems, systems ensuring continuity of administrative activities, systems for manufacturing, storing, and using chemical and radio- active substances, hazardous material pipelines included. Not every wastewa- ter treatment plant, pumping station, or powerplant shall be viewed as elements of critical infrastructure though. The crite- ria used for the classification of facilities, systems, or plants, or services, classified as the Critical Infrastructure have been developed by the Government Centre of Security [Rządowe Centrum Bezpiec- zeństwa (RCB)], jointly with ministries responsible for the individual elements of critical infrastructure. Two types of cri- teria have been adopted here: systemic criteria (quantitative, or descriptive pa- rameters that need to be present for the given component to be a part of the Critical Infrastructure), as well as gener- al, overall criteria (parameters referring to the potential impact that destruction or ceasing of operation would have - such as loss of human life, material losses, re- covery time, and so on). The qualification was taking place as a three-stage pro- cess based on the aforelisted criteria and definition contained within the Act on Crisis Management. The exact list of those systems and facilities, as well as the systemic criteria, remain, according to the current regulations - confidential. One may, with a high degree of certainty, based on OSINT, indicate the facilities and systems that meet the criteria of the aforesaid definition. As the Critical Infrastructure is a set of convoluted, multi-functional, co-depend- ent systems, its elements are prone to ordinary malfunction, natural disasters, and intentional activities such as sab- otage, or terrorism. Furthermore, the Critical Infrastructure is an intercon- nected system. When one element fails, the others struggle. The airport would not be able to function in an event of a blackout. Industry cannot continue its operations without water. Delays in sup- plies may paralyze the production pro- cess. There are multiple examples of such failures. Attacks against the CI may be a part of hybrid warfare - activities below the threshold of an armed conflict, car- ried out by states and non-state actors to destabilize the target, by using covert and overt means, with those means be- ing of both military, as well as non-military nature. Hybrid warfare is aimed at creat- ing an erosion of trust the citizens have towards the state, the remaining citizens, and the democracy. Primarily, however, the objective is to create chaos and dest- abilize the state. Hybrid warfare usually combines disinformation, cyber-attacks against the critical infrastructure, and sabotage, as well as economic pressure and employment of irregular warfare. Hy- brid warfare utilizes social fears and weak- nesses of the state and economy. Attacks targeting the critical infrastructure fit the framework of the hybrid warfare well - the disruption of the functioning of the critical infrastructure may render serious effects and lead to material losses and create soft effects, such as fear, dissolution of trust towards the state, and so on. The omnipresence of critical infrastructure systems, and the key role they play in our daily lives means that any rumor of dam- age or contamination causes effects and social reactions that cannot be controlled. This is why the critical infrastructure may also be exposed to disinformation, so com- mon in hybrid warfare. The aforesaid circumstances translate into a necessity of providing a multi-aspect defense system for such facilities, under- stood as activities aimed at maintaining the functioning, continuity, and integral nature of the critical infrastructure. In the event of the emergence of any kind of threat, disruption, failure, or attack, the state shall be able to neutralize these and recover the resources required for the correct operation of those facilities. www.fragoutmag.com