Fast Facts

• On November 11, Italian fire, security, and cyber authorities convene in Rome to tackle cybersecurity in energy and supply chains.
• The event is hosted by the Department of Firefighters and Civil Defense, with streaming access for the public.
• Keynote by Professor Roberto Setola will analyze technical and legal vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure.
• Roundtables include CISO leaders and experts discussing institutional responses to digital threats targeting essential services.
• Recent global attacks on energy and supply networks highlight urgent need for robust defenses.

The Gathering Storm: Why Rome’s Cyber Summit Matters

Imagine a city’s energy grid flickering in the night - not from a storm, but from a silent digital assault. On November 11, as the autumn sun rises over Rome, Italy’s top cyber defenders, fire chiefs, and industry leaders will assemble at the Istituto Superiore Antincendi. Their mission: to fortify the nation’s most vital arteries - energy and supply chains - against the growing tempest of cybercrime.

This high-profile conference, “Aspects of Cybersecurity in the Energy System and Supply Chain,” is more than an academic exercise. Recent years have seen a surge in digital attacks against critical infrastructure worldwide. From the infamous 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware incident in the United States, which paralyzed fuel supplies, to targeted malware campaigns against European electricity grids, the message is clear: cyber threats are no longer hypothetical - they are here, and they can cripple nations.

Behind the Scenes: Who’s Who in Italy’s Cyber Defense

The event’s lineup reads like a who’s who of Italian security leadership. Prefect Bruno Frattasi, head of the National Cybersecurity Agency, and Prefect Vittorio Rizzi, director of intelligence, will set the stage. Emanuele Prisco, Undersecretary of the Interior and a firefighter by trade, will close the proceedings - underscoring the critical link between physical and digital emergency response.

Professor Roberto Setola, a leading academic voice on critical infrastructure protection, will deliver the keynote. His address promises a deep dive into the technical and regulatory weak points that make energy and supply systems so tempting to hackers. The event’s roundtables, moderated by Luigi Garofalo of Cybersecurity Italia, will bring together Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and institutional experts to share hard-earned lessons and debate the next moves.

Lessons from the Front Lines: Why Energy and Supply Chains Are Prime Targets

Critical infrastructure - like power grids and supply networks - are attractive targets for cybercriminals and hostile states. These systems are interconnected, often running on legacy technology patched together over decades. A single breach can ripple quickly, causing blackouts, fuel shortages, or even endangering lives. In 2022, the European Union’s ENISA agency warned that attacks on supply chains were up by 38%, with ransomware and phishing as leading threats.

Italy, a linchpin in Europe’s energy and logistics web, faces unique challenges. Its reliance on imported energy and complex supply routes makes it both vital and vulnerable. The conference aims to spark collaboration between public agencies and private sector CISOs - because in the digital age, no firewall stands alone.

WIKICROOK

• Critical Infrastructure: Critical infrastructure includes key systems - like power, water, and healthcare - whose failure would seriously disrupt society or the economy.
• CISO: A CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) is the executive in charge of protecting an organization’s information and data from cyber threats.
• Ransomware: Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts or locks data, demanding payment from victims to restore access to their files or systems.
• Phishing: Phishing is a cybercrime where attackers send fake messages to trick users into revealing sensitive data or clicking malicious links.
• Supply Chain Attack: A supply chain attack is a cyberattack that compromises trusted software or hardware providers, spreading malware or vulnerabilities to many organizations at once.