Schlüsselinfrastrukturen

Schlüsselinfrastruktur, literally “key infrastructure” in German, denotes assets, systems, and services whose disruption would seriously impair everyday life, public safety, or the state’s ability to function. The term is used in policy discussions to identify critical resources that require enhanced protection, resilience, and continuity planning. While it overlaps with the widely used concept of critical infrastructure, Schlüsselinfrastruktur is often employed in German-speaking contexts to emphasize essentiality and strategic value.

Typical sectors associated with Schlüsselinfrastruktur include energy generation and distribution, water supply, food production, healthcare and emergency services, finance and payment systems, information technology and telecommunications, transportation and logistics, government and defense, and key industrial production. The precise sectors designated as Schlüsselinfrastruktur vary by country and over time, reflecting evolving threats and dependencies, such as digital services and data centers expanding their critical role.

Governance and protection: States usually designate certain sectors as critical assets and impose security and resilience requirements on operators. In Germany, the KRITIS framework and the IT Security Act set duties for operators of critical infrastructure to implement risk management, cybersecurity measures, incident response, and business continuity planning, with oversight by government authorities. Internationally, similar concepts exist under different names, with increasing emphasis on public-private cooperation, supply chain security, and rapid incident response.