Die Anschläge in New York und Washington am 11

 
Aim and methodological basis 
In the face of the potential dangers posed by natural 
disasters, events resulting from technical failure or human 
error, terrorism or criminal acts, measures to ensure the 
fundamental security of our highly complex economic and 
social infrastructures appear crucial – particularly with regard 
to infrastructures “of major importance to the community 
whose failure or impairment would cause a sustained 
shortage of supplies
, significant disruptions to public 
order or other dramatic consequences”.
2
 In addition to 
damage limitation and damage control measures, these so-
called critical infrastructures necessitate first and foremost 
the development and availability of preventive measures, 
with the aid of which serious disruptions can be avoided from 
the outset or their consequences at least minimised.
KRITIS definition
Trusting cooperation between the state and operators of 
infrastructure facilities is essential to identifying and 
specifying necessary protection measures: While the state 
remains the guarantor for internal security and coordinates 
information and communication processes, only the 
operators, with their sufficiently detailed knowledge of their 
infrastructures, are in a position to implement concrete 
protective measures in an effective manner.
Basis: Cooperation 
between state / 
business sector 
2
Definition of critical infrastructures by the KRITIS task force at the Federal Ministry of 
the Interior on 17 November 2003 

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Starting points for a baseline protection concept are to be 
found in statutory regulations and in generally recognised 
business principles
of anticipatory risk management and 
strategic business planning geared to success and continuity 
(in the form of so-called business continuity management 
(BCM), for example).
Section 91 (2) of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG), 
for example, obliges the board of management at a number 
of operating companies to undertake appropriate measures 
and to set up monitoring systems - such as a risk 
management system - in order to identify at an early juncture 
developments which threaten the continued existence of the 
company. Such developments include risk-entailing 
transactions and breaches of statutory regulations as well as 
dangers posed by natural events or acts of terror which may 
seriously affect the continued existence of the enterprise. 
Questions relating to the appraisal and assessment of 
business risks have acquired great emphasis not least of all 
as a result of the “Basle II” capital accord and the standards 
which have been adopted on money lending. 
Risk management, 
operators’ duties, 
relevant laws 
A further point of reference for measures to protect critical 
infrastructures lies in the operators’ responsibility to 
safeguard their facilities against potential hazards and to 
undertake the necessary precautions. These operators’ 
duties 
are regulated in part by statutory legislation (general 
operators’ duties and specific duties pertaining to the 
Telecommunications Act or the Ordinance on Hazardous 
Substances for example, or to businesses which come under 
the ambit of the Ordinance on Major Incidents). Other duties 
on the part of operators stem from generally recognised 
business principles, such as the principles of proper