RSIS Seminar by Dr Frank Umbach, Research Director, European Centre for Energy and Resource Security, King’s College, London; Adjunct Senior Fellow, RSIS; and Senior Associate, Centre for European Security Strategies
Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructures: New Challenges Ahead of Digitalisation, Internet of Things and Industry 4.0
Seminar Abstract
During the last few years, the worldwide increase in sophisticated cyberattacks on industrial control centres has alarmed industries, governments and cybersecurity experts. As long as the identification (or attribution) of the sources of cyberattack is facing increasing difficulties, and offensive cyber tools are becoming commonplace and available to rogue nations, jihadists and cyber-criminals throughout the world, sophisticated cyberattacks on critical information and control systems (ICS)networks might further increase. Disruptive and destructive attacks against Critical (Energy) Infrastructures (CIs/CEIs) have already overshot previous forecasts. The rapidly expanding introduction of new technologies will multiply existing cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities due to billions of internet-connected Internet of Things (IoT) items of networks of smart-sensor-enabled devices that communicate and cooperate with each other. The rapid and often premature adoption of digital technologies and IoT devices has already created new vulnerabilities and data breaches. This presentation will analyse and discuss global cyber security developments as well as new disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence. It will try to answer the question, to what extent will they improve cyber defence capabilities worldwide, and/or create new strategic risks and vulnerabilities (i.e., for CEIs and their Industrial Control Systems). It will also highlight the implications for more efficient cybersecurity and resilience concepts in the future.
About the Speaker
Frank Umbach has been appointed as Adjunct Senior Fellow in RSIS with effect from 22 September 2017. Dr Umbach graduated from the University of Bonn with a M.A. degree in Political Science and a PhD (“Dr. phil”). He is presently the Research Director of the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS) at King’s College in London as well as a Senior Associate at the Centre for European Security Strategies (CESS GmbH), Munich and a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe in Natolin (Warsaw) in Poland, teaching on “EU External Energy Governance”. Furthermore, he is also a consultant for the Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) and Wikistrat.com. Since 2014, he is an independent “Subject Matter Expert (SME)” on international energy security of NATO’s annual “Strategic Forecasting Analysis (SFA)”. He’s an internationally recognised expert on global energy security, geopolitics, critical (energy) infrastructure protection/CEIP, and (maritime) security policies in Asia Pacific as well as Russia/Central Asia.
Previously, he was also a (Non-Resident) Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council of the United States (ACUS) in Washington D.C. between 2010 and 2015. From 2003 to 2007, he was a Co-Chair of the European Committee of the Council for Security Co-operation in Asia-Pacific (CSCAP-Europe). From 1996 to 2007, he was the head of the programmes “Security Policies in Asia-Pacific” and “International Energy Security” at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Bonn and Berlin; a research fellow at the Federal Institute for East European and International Studies (BIOst) from 1991 to 1994 and a visiting research fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA) in Tokyo from 1995 to 1996.
Dr Umbach has done consultancy work and testimonies for the German Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence Policies; European Commission and European Parliament, US-State and Energy Departments, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (US-Congress), the Lithuanian Government, the House of Lords (British Parliament), the Polish Foreign and Economic Ministries, Hungarian Foreign Ministry, South Korean Foreign Ministry, NATO, OSCE, World Energy Council (WEC), Federation of the German Industries (BDI), energy and consultancy companies (incl. APCO and Roland Berger) and has advised international investors (via GLG). He is also the author of more than 500 publications in more than 30 countries worldwide, including being a contract author of the Geopolitical Intelligence Service (GIS) in Liechtenstein since 2011.
