Klaus Thoma Livres

The digital networks that characterise today’s world, together with the demographic change occuring in Germany and the growing frequency of extreme events are resulting in the emergence of the new threats that are increasing the vulnerability of our modern industrialised society. Combined with the continual diversification of safety and security risks, this means that disasters are capable of causing ever more serious harm. In order to continue protecting people and infrastructure against future environmental, economic and social damage, it will be necessary to firmly embed preventive measures in our society and ensure that the right lessons are learned from the past. The concept of resilience provides a holistic approach to this problem that attaches equal importance to the technological and social dimensions and helps to minimise the threats to our safety and security. Acchordingliy, acatech – National Academie of Science and Engineering launched the “Resilien-Tech” project with the aim of improving our understanding of this concept and enabling security researchers to put it to practical use. The authors of this STUDY analyse the concept of resilience from a civil security research perspectice, with particular emphasis on the issue of critical infrastructure protection. They also identify concrete approaches to developing resilient technological and socioeconomic systems.

Europe’s networked societies of today are shaped by a growing interconnection in almost all areas of life. The complexity of our infrastructures and the concurrent accessibility to means of destruction by terrorist groups and individual perpetrators call for innovative security solutions. However, such evolving innovations inevitably raise fundamental questions of concern in our societies. How do we balance the imperatives of securing our citizens and infrastructures on the one hand, and of protecting of our sacredly held civil liberties on the other? The topical network ‘Safety and Security’ of acatech – the German Academy of Science and Engineering – invited experts from the science academies of various European countries to share their perspectives on security research and the aspect of safety during a two-day workshop hosted by the Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut in March 2010. This publication is a compilation of contributions made during the workshop.

The proceeding covers topics relevant to civil security research with emphasis on the protection of critical infrastructures (Information and Telecommunications networks, Energy, Transportation, Banking and Finance, Chemical Industry and Hazardous Materials, Emergency Services, Postal and Shipping, Government Facilities and other key assets).

Der Tagungsband des Workshops „BAU-PROTECT“ richtet sich an interessierte Ingenieure, Behördenvertreter und Entscheidungsträger, die sich mit der Einschätzung von Risiken, der Bewertung der Gefährdung und der Umsetzung von Schutzmaßnahmen für gefährdete Bauwerke befassen und gibt einen Überblick zum Thema.