Skopje, October 20, 2022 (MIA) - We are working intensively on the Law on Critical Infrastructure, as a framework for creating resilience of systems vital to the state, Minister of Defense Slavjanka Petrovska said addressing the conference “Towards Resilience and Protection of Critical Infrastructure: Regional Exchange” on Thursday, which is organized by the Skopje branch of the “Friedrich Ebert” Foundation, in cooperation with the Presidential Center for Political Education.

Critical infrastructure includes physical or virtual systems that are vital to a country and therefore their disabling or destruction would have a negative effect on national, economic and social security, said the Ministry of Defense in a press release.

Minister Petrovska pointed out that in conditions of a changed European security architecture, the need to build a comprehensive system for the protection of critical infrastructure is greater than ever.

"Every day we witness that the sophisticated hybrid and cyber threats that target the critical infrastructure of the states in the region are becoming an increasingly serious threat and a serious security challenge for the states, and of course for ours. The examples show that the invisible friend can hinder or disable almost all segments of our daily life. In the past period in the region we have witnessed a large number of cyber attacks on state institutions, non-governmental organizations, water supply systems, the energy network, transport, a large number of online services used by citizens, etc.," said the minister.

Petrovska pointed out that the issue of critical infrastructure is part of a larger mosaic that represents a challenge in the construction of a high degree of resilience of our society and that it is necessary to raise awareness and the level of readiness for its protection within the framework of the strategic management of the state and its institutions, including the construction of an integrated legislative framework for the protection of critical infrastructure.

"We need to build a network system and the protection of critical infrastructure that cannot be one-sector and partial if of course we expect early warning and prevention. This is exactly why we need a systemic approach to regulating the protection of critical infrastructure that we, as the Ministry of Defense, have already been leading this process for some time, and within the framework of the MKD NATO 2030 project, a committee was formed with the aim of exactly that," Petrovska pointed out.

The minister emphasized that the protection of critical infrastructure, in addition to being important for the protection of state interests and citizens, is also necessary for the protection of the security of the region, as well as of all NATO and EU member countries.

"The protection cannot be done by a single Ministry or any directorate that will be entrusted with this task. The solution and response should be seen through the prism of an integrated system for the national security of the state based on the experiences of all previous crises that we have gone through and overcoming the partial approach that has been used so far, enabling conditions for effectiveness, simultaneity and full coordination of all actors in the system," Petrovska noted.

The minister also referred to the normative redefinition in this area, stressing that it is necessary to pass a Law on the Protection of Critical Infrastructure as the first step in building a society that is resilient and whose vital functions are ensured without violating liberal values and human rights and freedoms. dk/nn/