Informations- und Kommunikationsinfrastrukturen – Nervenzentren der modernen Gesellschaft

The plenary session on information and communications infrastructures as nerve centers of modern society will focus on the nature, role and potential vulnerability of these infrastructures. How critical are they? In the context of overall homeland security, what priority should be attached to their defense? How likely is an all-out attack on them? How have attacks upon them been thwarted in the past? How can they best be thwarted in the future? What new technologies in both hardware and software may be coming to the rescue? Meanwhile, how can the confidentiality of private communications be protected from unwarranted eavesdropping? These questions will be addressed from both European and American perspectives.