160 – this is the number of critical infrastructures currently existing in Portugal. From energy to telecommunications, transportation or water supply, there are several systems, assets and networks that are vital to society and the economy. Which threats affect said infrastructures? What is the impact of a catastrophic failure or an attack? How can we ensure security and resilience? These were some of the issues discussed at the ninth edition of the INESC TEC Autumn Forum.
INESC TEC challenged academia, industry and public administration representatives to reflect on the safety and resilience of critical infrastructures – an “important and essential debate”, as described by João Claro, in the closing session of the event. But let’s start at the beginning.
After the opening session, by Pedro Guedes de Oliveira, coordinator of the Organising Committee of the event, Rui Calçada, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, and Pedro Rodrigues, Vice-Rector of the University of Porto, the participants were able to learn from Ben Kutcha, Group Director for Resilience and Crisis Management at National Grid (UK), on the future of energy considering the energy transition – a process that entails great challenges inherent to the production of energy from renewable sources and its distribution.
Ben Kutcha addressed the ability to predict disruptive events and optimise the response to these occurrences, highlighting the importance of data in the development of models that support prediction, resolution and mitigation of these risks. The speaker reinforced the importance of collaboration between companies, which must identify risks, and academia, which can develop forecasting models and methodologies to address disruptive events.
José Oliveira, Vice-President of the National Council for Emergency Civil Planning, was the second keynote speaker; he explained not only that the pandemic and wars have highlighted the cascading effects of interdependence in various sectors and weaknesses in supply chains, but also acknowledged that Portugal is exposed to natural risks, namely earthquakes, with 160 critical infrastructures in the country.
Cybersecurity-related risks have also increased; so, the development of skills to predict and plan actions to minimise their effects is urgent. José Oliveira also provided a perspective on how the management and security of critical infrastructures is organised at national, European and international levels, through NATO.
Communications, electricity and cybersecurity
The first panel discussion focused on technological physical infrastructures, with the participation of João Beleza Vaz (ANACOM), Miguel Freitas (E-REDES) and Lino Santos (National Cybersecurity Centre) – moderated by Clara Gouveia, member of the Board at INESC TEC. The participants discussed the risks to said technological infrastructures: the ageing of assets, the integration of renewables, cybersecurity, the risks of geopolitical situations, and the use of underwater cables – with clear examples of attacks on sectors like energy or communications.
Among the main conclusions of this panel, we highlight the need for a global and holistic mapping between the various sectors for a coordination, at the national level, of crisis management, the investment on the training of teams directly involved with maintenance, prevention and safety issues, and awareness-raising actions when it comes to risk alerts. The panel also reinforced the importance of implementing the current legal framework with a systemic view, technological support and increased safety culture.
Airspace, water supply, road and rail networks
Joaquim Geraldes (NAV Portugal), Gonçalo Nuno Mendes (AdP Valor) and Hugo Patrício (Infraestruturas de Portugal) spoke about physical infrastructures, with emphasis on their resilience. Moderated by Teresa Sá Marques, professor at FLUP, the panel discussed how – even if representing different areas, with different resilience strategies – companies have a common denominator: the normal operation of services and supply chains, and the mitigation of critical events, e.g., pandemics, ageing infrastructures, terrorism or adverse weather events.
Some of the conclusions of this panel are related to the importance of retaining talent in organisations, towards implementing security and resilience strategies; the relevance of cooperation with municipal entities; the existence of national, regional and European policies – which, in the case of air control, are well-defined and standardised – that have made it possible to optimise services and avoid quality loss during crisis situations.
“Risks are increasingly complex and are constantly evolving”
At the closing session of the ninth edition of the INESC TEC Autumn Forum, João Claro reinforced the quality of the ideas shared throughout the event, which allowed “to understand a complex scenario and what are the main organisational advances, in the public domain and in science and technology – which constitute the great opportunities and challenges for the sector.” According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors at INESC TEC, the Autumn Forum provided “a crucial debate on the resilience and safety of critical infrastructures”, emphasising “an established and increasingly relevant and urgent theme: safeguarding our critical infrastructures”. According to João Claro, this is not only a matter of national security, but a fundamental pillar of the resilience of the economy, the health and well-being of populations and the stability of society itself.
In conclusion, the Chairman highlighted three aspects: “proactivity, collaboration and knowledge”. Proactivity in training and strategic preparation, as “risks are increasingly complex and are constantly evolving”; collaboration through the combination of resources between the public and business sectors, and a cohesive and multilevel approach, since, for example, “disruptions in a given region can have repercussions beyond its borders”; knowledge through the contribution of education and science institutions, which work at the interface of knowledge in areas like Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity or Critical Infrastructure Design – and which can contribute not only to the design of resilience strategies, risk forecasting and mitigation, but also to the improvement of public policies.
Finally, João Claro invited the representatives of different society sectors to join the tenth edition of the event, in 2025 – the year INESC TEC celebrates the 40th anniversary.
The event brought together more than 200 participants, took place on November 12, at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, and is available on INESC TEC’s YouTube channel.
The INESC TEC researcher mentioned in this news piece is associated with UP-FEUP.
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