It would be bad for us if the Øresund connection or the Great Belt Bridge suddenly broke in the middle, and it would be a shame if something happened to the railway tracks just around Ringsted. But we could handle that. We have a plan B. We drive (or sail) around. We’ll fix it. But what if the power grid didn’t work? Or the Internet?
Hygiene factors
Hygiene factors is the modern phrase for the things that are unbelievably important and that no one pays attention to – until one day it doesn’t work. Think, for example, of the railway switches, the sewage network or the waterworks. And try not to think about whether the chef at your restaurant or the nurse at your hospital has washed their hands. Or think about whether there is power coming out of the socket. Or think about how highly everything that we cannot see is prioritized politically.
A few weeks ago it emerged that (probably) Russian hackers had gained access to critical IT systems at a number of Danish utility companies in May this year (2023, ed.). The attack was quickly repelled and, as far as is known, no damage was done. But for a brief moment, people who didn’t want us well had control over the electricity, water and heat supply for over 100,000 Danes.
Attacked during working hours
The beautiful thing is that it later emerged that the reason the attack was thwarted so skillfully and competently was that the attackers had chosen to attack within normal working hours. If it had happened on a weekend or after 18, we would have been thorough on it. But we don’t talk about that. There is actually a lot we don’t talk about.
Because what is the Danish strategy in relation to attacks directed against our critical infrastructure? Hope. We hope that does not happen. We hope they leave us alone. And what was it that Barbara Bertelsen (Head of Department in the State Ministry and Denmark’s highest-ranking civil servant, ed.) said about hope as a strategy when corona threatened and no one knew how serious the threat was? “Hope is not a strategy.” It is objectively true.
Three days without power causes chaos
In emergency departments, they operate with a scenario where around three days go by without power before we have looting and chaos in the streets. And when that happens, the race is over. It is difficult to call for reinforcement without a telephone network. It will also be difficult to find your way without GPS. And we can’t even make ends meet without digital money transfers.
This is not an argument that we should all go out and invest in a diesel generator, a VHF radio and rush down to the bank and have the pension savings paid out in gold (by the way, we can’t do the latter either – there has been no gold coverage for Danes money for the last 100 years – money is just something we play with). On the other hand, this is an argument for us taking critical infrastructure seriously. And that we take seriously the fact that it has been digitized and thus electrified.
Critical infrastructure is not mapped
There is no mapping, let alone a definition, of critical digital infrastructure in Denmark. This makes it inherently difficult to make plans for what to do if one day it doesn’t work.
Denmark is one of the world’s most digitized societies. This makes us extremely efficient, and we can actually be both satisfied and proud of that. But it also makes us extremely vulnerable. All our eggs are in the basket over at the electricity supply, which also has our bread and our first aid kit. Think for a moment or two about how much actually works in Denmark if there is no electricity. And then think once more.
What is plan B – or the plan?
During the next year, the FSC consortium will start the technical installations in the Fehmarn tunnel. We are talking about ventilation, traffic management, WIFI, FM radio, lights and signage for emergency passengers. Every fuse, every lamp and every radio repeater is critical infrastructure. And what exactly is plan B for them. What is the plan?
It has been suggested that Denmark should have a central ministry or agency that takes care of national security. It has been proposed that Denmark should have a detailed mapping and definition of critical infrastructure. It has also been suggested that it should be in the same place so that efforts could be coordinated, if now. That sounds like something we could benefit from thinking about.
