WELT Security Summit: Europe’s Security Requires 
a Resilient Industrial Sector

A cyberattack on a manufacturing facility is no longer just a business problem. When energy, water, food, and medical supplies can no longer be reliably produced and delivered, the consequences affect society as a whole.

At the 2026 WELT Security Summit in Berlin, David Petrikat, the Chief Strategy and Communications Officer at AMDT, offered an industrial perspective on the issue. His central message was that: Europe cannot view its security in isolation from the resilience of its manufacturing sector.


A Blind Spot with Far-Reaching Consequences

No country can remain operational for long without reliable access to essential goods and services. This includes energy, water, healthcare, material supplies, and industrial production.

Many of these areas depend on operational technology. Yet, visibility and control are often lacking in this area. Which machines, control systems, and software versions are currently in use? Which configurations have changed? Can operations be quickly and reliably restored after a cyber incident?

Not every company can confidently answer these questions.


“We Urgently Need to Invest”

In an interview with WELT TV, David Petrikat pointed out major shortcomings in the security of operational technology at German companies. "We are highly vulnerable and urgently need to invest in bringing OT security up to the level of IT security."

After investing intensively in IT security for a decade, companies must now protect their OT environments with the same determination. This requires taking a complete inventory of industrial assets, making traceable changes, creating reliable backups, and defining clear recovery processes.

The challenge is significant. Industrial environments are complex and heterogeneous and have often evolved over decades. However, this is precisely where resilience is determined. By treating industrial production and critical infrastructure as integral components of national and European security, we can build the resilience Europe needs.