Brussels, 17/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) released a report on Wednesday 17 December on the protection of underground electronic communications infrastructure.
The study follows ENISA's latest annual incident reports, which reveals that cable cuts remain a major cause of connectivity outage. This report is targeted at member states, public institutions, owners of underground communication assets, as well as excavators and civil workers. It is the first to investigate the use of automated information systems for damage prevention against civil work, and provides recommendations to increase the resilience of electronic communication infrastructures.
The report analyses the existing initiatives deployed by selected EU member states - Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden - which have developed specific tools in order to prevent the disruption of underground electronic communication infrastructure.
Automated information systems are the most advanced tools against underground infrastructure damage. They provide civil engineering companies responsible for constructing or maintaining infrastructure with a detailed list of the owners of the infrastructure and notify the owners of planned civil work. Measures to guarantee the security of the data exchanged are also discussed.
“The report highlights how automated information systems can actively participate to the protection of underground electronic communication infrastructure. Strong collaboration is needed among stakeholders for the protection of underground assets, while future improvements should ease the adoption of these tools” stated ENISA Executive Director Udo Helmbrecht. (IL)