Albright Stage | Critical Infrastructure Under Fire: Building Resilience in a Contested World

Critical infrastructure, spanning energy, water, transportation, healthcare, finance, and communication, has become a primary battleground in an era of intensifying geopolitical competition. The threats these systems face are no longer siloed: physical sabotage, cyberattacks, supply chain vulnerabilities, and hybrid operations increasingly converge, demanding integrated approaches to protection and resilience. State and non-state actors alike have demonstrated both the capability and willingness to target essential services as a means of coercion, while the growing private sector ownership of critical systems complicates governance and response. Effective protection demands coherent legal and regulatory frameworks, sustained investment, cross-border coordination, and genuine public-private partnership, raising difficult questions about prioritisation, standards, and the division of responsibility between governments and industry. - How can governments and the private sector develop integrated frameworks that address the full spectrum of threats to critical infrastructure? - What investment, regulatory, and governance models best support long-term infrastructure resilience? - How should international cooperation evolve to protect shared and interdependent critical systems from both state and non-state actors? Speakers: Philippe Lavigne, Former Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, NATO and Adviser, GLOBSEC GeoTech Centre Terry Martin, Journalist Martin Kupka, Chairman Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Juraj Šedivý, Chairman of the Board CETIN International Sir David Lidington, Distinguished Fellow, International Security, Royal United Services Institute Peter Weckesser, Chief Digital Officer Schneider Electric