Glossary

Critical Infrastructure describes all facilities relevant to maintaining the security and supply of civil society and body politic. A disruption to these facilities would lead to massive supply shortages and threats to public safety. The German Federal Ministry of the Interior has divided critical infrastructure into nine sectors:

• Energy: Electricity, gas, oil
• Information technology and telecommunications
• Transportation: Aviation, maritime shipping, inland shipping, rail transport, road transport, logistics
• Health: Medical care, pharmaceuticals and vaccines, laboratories
• Water: Public water supplies, public waste water disposal
• Nutrition: Food industry, food retail sector
• Finance and insurance industry: Banks, stock exchanges, insurance companies, financial service providers
• Government and administration: Government and administration, parliament, courts, emergency services (including disaster relief)
• Media and culture: Radio (television and radio), the printed and electronic press, cultural assets, symbolic buildings

Since the 2015 IT Security Act, critical IT infrastructure is obligated to ensure minimum security standards for their information infrastructure.