For the first time, NATO organized an exercise in Sweden focused on the vulnerabilities of energy infrastructure in times of war. In a context of increasing tensions due to recent conflicts, this exercise, entitled Nordic Pine, aims to strengthen resilience in the face of hybrid threats, integrating both traditional and cyber attacks.
In the Swedish city of Jönköping, energy and cybersecurity experts from Sweden, the United States, Germany, Greece, but also Switzerland, are gathered in a large conference center, where they participate in various simulations complex.
Separated into small groups in different rooms, researchers, scientists, energy specialists and even risk analysis specialists were given an initial scenario, to which incidents were added as the exercise progressed.
“This fictional scenario is designed to present participants with problems to solve. Throughout the exercise, the scenario intensifies. It begins with a few actions of an antagonist that they must deal with. Then it becomes increasingly more problematic for them What seems interesting to me is that the scenario contains both cyberattacks, information threats, but also supply chain threats. of threats”, explains in La Matinale Anders Melander, participant and senior analyst at the European Center of Excellence for the fight against hybrid threats.
Analyze strengths and weaknesses
Within the “Bravo” team, which the RTS was able to follow, nine researchers, entrepreneurs and specialists are brought together, including Peter Burgherr, head of the technology assessment group at the Swiss Paul Scherrer Institute.
“We play a wind farm company that has to make decisions and actions against various threats. And I play the role of a board member of this company. It’s a useful experience for me to see how it works on the other side It’s about seeing what we can do as a company on a technical level, and who we should address in the short and long term. “, he explains.
During the exercise, discussions resemble a game of ping-pong. Someone begins an analysis, then another person continues, and so on. For Anders Melander, it is a question of observing and pooling the strengths and weaknesses of each person to seek a coherent solution to an attack on renewable energy infrastructures, particularly when the private and public mingle.
A Switzerland that participates
For Switzerland, which is not a member of NATO, participation in this type of exercise should make it possible to develop and strengthen skills and quickly implement a strategy in the face of this type of threat. Because even if the country is not the number one target currently, it could one day be affected by this type of attack.
“There are national targets that we want to achieve in the future. The fundamental point in the energy transition that we are in is that we want to evolve our energy system towards a more decentralized model. And of course, networks are at the heart of this evolution, which constitutes a number of points of attack that we must be prepared to manage,” explains Peter Burgherr.
During the three days of the exercise, the importance of Switzerland was also mentioned several times by NATO experts. The country is particularly seen as a strong partner in the field of research and science, whose collaboration is essential.
Aleksandra Planinic
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