(c) Selina Hörler/KSÖ
On 28 and 29 September 2026, the ‘Critical Infrastructure Day’ took place at the Vienna Airport Conference Centre. More than 350 representatives from security agencies, academia and industry, as well as operators of critical infrastructure, took part in the two-day event to exchange expertise and network. The focus was on current and future challenges in protecting critical infrastructure, as well as on how its resilience can be strengthened in the face of an increasingly complex threat landscape.
Helmut Leopold, KSÖ Vice-President and Head of the Centre for Digital Safety & Security at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, opened the second day of the event. In light of increasing digitalisation and interconnectivity, the protection of critical infrastructure requires a holistic approach to security and resilience, as well as close cooperation between research, industry, operators and public institutions.
The event addressed a broad spectrum of current challenges. In addition to traditional threats, cyber-attacks, sabotage, hybrid threats, extreme weather events and new threat scenarios involving drones are becoming increasingly significant. Artificial intelligence is also changing the security landscape whilst simultaneously opening up new possibilities for prevention, analysis and response.
The focus was on the so-called ‘all-hazard’ approach: different hazards, interdependencies and vulnerabilities are not considered in isolation, but are linked together within comprehensive security and resilience concepts. Alongside technological solutions, organisational measures, crisis management, communication and the human factor play a central role.
AIT expertise at the exhibition stand
The AIT was represented with its own exhibition stand. Bernhard Kohn and Michael Mürling, experts at the Centre for Digital Safety and Security, presented the AIT’s expertise in the field of digital identity management with a demonstration of the award-winning ‘BioCapture’ solution for contactless fingerprint verification, which is currently being rolled out by the Austrian police.
AIT is also involved in numerous research activities focusing on the security and resilience of networked and digital systems. Key areas of focus include cyber security, digital resilience and technologies for securing critical infrastructure. The aim is to detect threats at an early stage, gain a better understanding of complex interdependencies and support organisations in sustainably increasing their resilience to cyber-attacks and other disruptions.
The ‘Critical Infrastructure Day’ provided an important platform for dialogue between operator organisations, public authorities, security organisations, industry and the research community. The event highlighted that ensuring the resilience of critical infrastructure is a shared responsibility and requires ongoing research, technological innovation and close collaboration between all stakeholders.
Further informations:
Kompetenzzentrum Sicheres Österreich
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