G 0.34 Attack

An attack can threaten an institution, certain areas of the institution, or individual people. The technical means of carrying out an attack are diverse: thrown bricks, explosion by explosives, use of firearms, arson. Whether and to what extent an institution is exposed to the risk of an attack depends not only on the location and environment of the building, but also heavily on its tasks and the political and social climate. Companies and authorities operating in politically controversial areas are more at risk than others. Institutions located near typical demonstration assembly areas are more at risk than those in remote locations. To assess the threat or if there is suspicion of threats from politically motivated attacks, the state criminal police offices or the Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany can be consulted for advice.

Examples:

• In the 1980s, an explosive attack was carried out on the data center of a large federal authority in Cologne. Due to the high penetrating power of the explosive device, not only windows and walls were destroyed, but also many IT systems in the data center were destroyed.
• In the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, not only many people were killed, but numerous IT facilities were also destroyed. As a result, several companies had considerable difficulties continuing their business operations.