Past Dialogue Events

Cyber Risk in Critical Infrastructure

Critical infrastructure is increasingly complex and interconnected. Vulnerability to cyber-attacks is a major concern, as illustrated by recent large-scale events. Confidence in data and systems security is key.

Join us to learn about the latest advances in cyber risks management for critical infrastructure, and applications in the health sector.

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Infrastructures providing enery, telecommunications, water and transportation are vital to our societies and economies. The digital revolution causes a major shift in the way they operate.

Mission-critical assets and processes on which infrastructure relies are powered by operational technology (OT). The Internet of Things accelerated the integration of OT with information technology systems. The emergence of Industry 4.0 increases the reliance on highly connected devices. These trends augment the attack surface of critical infrastructure environments.

At the same time, cyber-threats are ever more sophisticated. Inappropriately updated legacy OT and industrial control systems become more vulnerable.

It is essential to improve the resilience of our critical infrastructure to cyber attacks. This event aims at helping decision-makers develop their strategies and plans for greater cyber resilience. We hope that it provides you with helpful insights.
 

Part I - 5G: Technological Risks  external page Video link

Part II - 5G: Health Risks  external page Video link  external page Video link 2

Part III - 5G: Societal Impacts  external page Video link

«5G: Balancing Opportunities and Risks»

A building block of the digital economy and society
The next generation of wireless technology will transform telecommunication networks. To meet our increasing data requirements, the bandwidth, capacity, and reliability of wireless broadband services will expand. The billions of connected devices that are predicted to make up the Internet of Things (IoT) will communicate in real time thanks to drastically lower latencies. Faster speeds will foster business innovation across countless areas of the economy.

Health risks
5G will transmit and receive radio signals over an expanded range of frequencies, each offering unique risks and opportunities. High frequency waves will improve speed but are less penetrative (e.g. through walls), with shorter transmission ranges (a few hundreds of meters instead of several kilometers). 5G thus requires more antennas and the societal acceptance of higher levels of electromagnetic radiation.

Technological risks
More connected devices mean more exposure to attacks. IoT devices typically have poor security features. Moreover, hackers can also exploit 5G volume and speed to steal much much more data much faster. A large-​scale breakthrough of self-​driving cars and other IoT applications certainly requires a quick enhancement of security features to avoid cumulative damage at a catastrophic scale.

Privacy issues, security breaches and espionage constitute additional concrete risks. Breaches from built-​in hardware or software backdoors should be considered. Finally, the current market for 5G infrastructure revolves around a handful of firms, raising the issue of concentration risk.

«DECIPHERING BLOCKCHAIN: Applications, Impact and Risks»

This event discusses the current status of the blockchain technology and its integration across different systems and industries and highlights the impact, risks and challenges – ranging from technical to economic and to regulatory aspects.

Friday, 1 February 2019, 13:00 – 18:00, followed by a networking aperitif
ETH Zurich, main building, Rämistrasse 101, Zurich, F5

Invitation with program and abstracts Download here. (PDF, 329 KB)

Opening Remarks
Prof. Lothar Thiele, Associate Vice President for Digital Transformation, ETH Zurich
Download Slides (PDF, 4.7 MB) Video

Blockchain Basics and Examples: eCHF and eVoting
Prof. Roger Wattenhofer, Distributed Computing Group, ETH Zurich
Download Slides (PDF, 9 MB) Video

Blockchains - From Technology to Use Cases
Björn Tackmann, IBM Research Zurich
Download Slides (PDF, 5.6 MB) Video

Distributed Ledger Technology for Clearing and Settlement
Silvan Villiger, Senior Product Architect, Digital Asset
Simon Meier, Director of Engineering, Digital Asset
Slides Video

Blockchain@SBB: The Beauty of a Common Immutable Truth
Vitus Ammann, Digitalization & Strategy, SBB AG
Slides Video not available

Distributed Ledger in Renewable Energy Transactions
Robert Schwarz, Principal, Pöyry Energy Consulting
Download Slides (PDF, 1.8 MB) Video

How Much Should we Trust and how Much Should we Distribute? Blockchains, TEEs and More
Prof. Srdjan Capkun, System Security Group, ETH Zurich
Download Slides (PDF, 4.9 MB) Video

Blockchain, Contracts and Super-Property
Prof. Stefan Bechtold, Center for Law and Economics, ETH Zurich
Slides not available Video

Impact of ETH Research and Startups to Blockchains
Petar Tsankov, ICE center, ETH Zurich
Slides not available Video

Focus on «Decision-Making in Complex Environments: From Humans to Machines»

Friday, 20 January 2017, 13:15 – 17:30, followed by a networking aperitif

ETH Zurich, main building, Rämistrasse 101, Zurich, F1

Full programme Download here. (PDF, 1.7 MB)
Presentation of
Prof. Download Joachim Buhmann (PDF, 13.7 MB)
Prof. Download Ralph Hertwig (PDF, 4.2 MB)
Prof. Download John Lygeros (PDF, 11.2 MB)
Prof. Download Melanie Zeilinger (PDF, 46.7 MB)

We always welcome and appreciate feedback on our events. Please send us your opinion to info-riskcenter@ethz.ch.
Thank you!

4th Dialogue Event | 15 January 2016

This year´s event was in view of «Engineered System Risk». In the Risk Center Session, Prof. Bruno Sudret and Prof. Ulrich Alois Weidmann talked about uncertainty quantification in engineering and the extended rail performance through collaborative subsystems. This was followed by a «Singapore Session», in which Prof. Hans Rudolf Heinimann, Programme Director of the Future Resilient Systems Project at the Singapore ETH Center gave insights into the running programme. Prof. Loon Ching Tang from National University Singapore presented a constructive framework for systems resilience looking at the supply chain systems of Singapore´s worldwide logistic hub. Risk Center Professor Giovanni Sansavini led the focus session on «Engineered System Risk: Zoom on the Energy Infrastructure». Prof. Reza Abhari from ETH Zurich gave insights on the electricity transmission infrastructure, market performance, and the impact of policy followed by a talk of Bernd Nordieker, Head of System Operations at Swissgrid, on the challenges for energy transmission with a focus on the transition from “old” to “new” energy from a Swiss grid operator´s perspective.

Download Presentations here (ZIP, 50.1 MB)