Nordic and Ukraine Share Experiences for Strengthened Resilience of Critical Society Operations

To enhance resilience in critical societal operations across the EU, the CER and NIS2 directives are being implemented. The Civil Defense Agency has since 2024 been tasked with collaborating with the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP). Kateryna Vorobei from SSSCIP discussed the challenge of conducting risk and threat assessments amid ongoing war, shifting from protecting critical operations to a more preventive and systematic approach required by the directives. Unlike natural disasters, attackers aim to cause maximum damage, consider strategic timing, and target multiple points—natural disasters do not increase attacks on energy infrastructure in anticipation of winter, says Kateryna Vorobei. At the start of the full-scale invasion, there was no time for planning. This has led Norway, traditionally a very open society, to reevaluate how much information and data should be publicly available, says Knut Torget from the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB). – This is partly a result of Denmark’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate-related events affecting Denmark, and an increased threat level, says Malte Lund Rasmussen from the Danish Agency for Civil Protection.