Germany's energy infrastructure is facing more attacks than infrastructure in other European countries, according to Christian Bruch, chief executive of energy technology company Siemens Energy.
"We have to recognize that critical infrastructure cannot be fully protected. In my view, the threat level has increased significantly over the past 12 to 18 months," Bruch told dpa.
"As a large country that would be a transit route and play a key role in the event of a conflict, we are particularly exposed," he said, adding that this needed to be understood by the public as well.
Recent attacks on the power grid in the German states of Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia have drawn attention. Investigators believe both incidents were acts of anti-constitutional sabotage.
Bruch said Germany urgently needed to finalize its civilian operational plan for responding to crises, including protecting power and water infrastructure and food supplies.
"We have to prepare for this because we have to accept that these could all be signs of hybrid attacks," he said. Cyberattacks on infrastructure were also becoming more frequent, he added.
Critical infrastructure was difficult to protect and could be disrupted with simple means, Bruch said. Germany should therefore also strengthen its ability to repair damaged infrastructure quickly, including through specialist repair teams.
He pointed to Ukraine, where critical infrastructure is regularly targeted by Russia, as an example of how this could be organized. Rapid reporting chains and knowing where spare parts are stored were essential, he said. "That is much more important than believing that I could protect everything."
Siemens Energy became an independent company after being spun off from Siemens in 2020 and listed on the stock market. It develops and supplies technology for power generation and transmission, renewable energy and industrial energy applications.