Overlapping Rings
The Essentials Newsletter, Twenty-seventh Edition
Going back to the origins of this blog last May, I first noted my perspective on the critical infrastructure (CI) sectors working together like the Olympic rings – all interlinked, with some overlapping more than others…and in case you hadn’t heard, the 2024 summer Olympics are in full swing! As such, I just can’t help but write about them and how so much is going on behind the scenes to make them happen – all supported by CI sectors.
One of the places where those Olympic rings intersect the most among all 17 CI sectors is in the need to maintain physical security. In the case of the Olympics, the French must guard the physical security of the facilities – in the U.S., you’ll recall that we have CI sectors representing “Commercial Facilities” and “Government Facilities” – which span streets and stadiums to iconic monuments like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe all the way to the massive grounds at the Palace of Versailles. The athletes, officials, coaches, maintenance personnel, cooks, drivers, spectators (etc., etc.) must also be protected, of course. And the food and water serving all those people must remain uncontaminated and safe to consume.
Unfortunately, we have already seen a successful physical security attack impacting the Olympics in the hours leading up to the opening ceremonies. While, blessedly, no one was hurt, the attacks on France’s high-speed rail lines resulted in fire damage disabling three out of the four lines, disrupting service until repairs could be completed. According to the Financial Times in an article written on Sunday, July 28:
France’s rail operator said on Sunday that all repairs to damaged high-speed rail lines were now complete, days after the network was sabotaged hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games. The co-ordinated attack, which took place in the night from Thursday to Friday, disrupted traffic on much of the country’s crucial rail network, with three out of the country’s four major high-speed train lines damaged by fire. An attempt on the fourth line failed, officials said. "Thanks to the exceptional mobilisation of our agents who have worked tirelessly since Friday morning, the repair work is now completely finished on all the high-speed lines affected by the acts of sabotage,” SNCF, the rail operator, said on Sunday morning, adding that all tests “were successful and the lines are now usable normally.”
Regardless of any other motivations the attackers may have had, they successfully disrupted transportation into and out of Paris at an inopportune time for travelers. Their attack also demonstrates the overlap with another CI sector in our Olympics example – that of transportation. I applaud the French organizers for managing this crisis well. While prevention of physical attacks is ideal, resilience is the next best thing. By resilience, I mean that the French transportation sector was able to make up for the diminished capacity of the rail lines in other ways while at the same time being ready to repair and restore the damaged lines within a few days, thereby minimizing the overall impact.
Just in this short blog, I’ve already directly mentioned or alluded to six of the CI sectors (can you identify them?). I haven’t yet noted my favorite (yes, I’m biased and can admit it, unlike the Olympic diving judges whose bias toward the Chinese is monolithic!), but will now…what if the power was disrupted for an extended period of time during the games? Even with backup generation, it’s doubtful the Olympics could continue. In addition to heightened physical and cybersecurity measures no doubt undertaken by Electricite de France (EDF) and its subsidiaries, the French utility has a healthy electric grid, including a thriving in-country nuclear fleet not directly impacted by the war between Russia and Ukraine. Primarily because of significant upward pressure on electricity prices, the French re-nationalized EDF and its subsidiaries in 2023 (yes, just last year). The French government has reaffirmed support for EDF’s existing nuclear fleet while also looking to build small modular reactors and embracing development of some renewables and storage.
Stepping away from my favorite CI sector and its cousin, the nuclear sector, let’s talk about the massive presence of security personnel at the Olympics, even when not always evident to us spectators on the other side of the pond. According to an article published on July 31, by The Nation:
Security for the Paris Olympics is the shadow spectacle to the sporting spectacle. The Games have given rise to the largest military presence in the city since World War II, with around 10,000 soldiers ensconced in a centralized military camp in close proximity to all the Paris Olympic venues. Another 45,000 police and gendarmes patrol the city, and that doesn’t even count the 20,000 private security guards.
The Olympic Games not only bring together athletes from around the world; they increasingly unite the world’s security forces. The policing of Olympic Paris includes nearly 2,000 security officials from around 40 countries. Most are from Europe, but there are also forces from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ireland, Morocco, Qatar, and South Korea. Media accounts of foreign police officers—such as Irish gardaí—offering a “friendly face” to help tourists find where they need to go belie the intensity of the security presence in Olympic Paris. Walking around the city often feels like attending an international policing convention.
As a 31-year resident of a suburb of a similar capital city to Paris, Washington, D.C., I often feel like the author of this article on a “regular” day here – what with the various local jurisdictions, two state jurisdictions, the Pentagon police, the National Park Police, the Capitol Police, etc. In all seriousness, this speaks to, well, the seriousness of physical security at these Olympics. War, ongoing civil unrest, and even the usual overzealous fans like we’ve already seen running onto the soccer pitch a couple of times during these Olympic games, all underscore the need for a strong law enforcement presence. Even with that, the coverage of the games seems to indicate that such presence is not detracting from the athletes and the sports in which they are here to compete at the highest levels.
What about the money needed to keep things humming, much less to pay for extra chocolate croissants in the morning and champagne at night? The financial services sector’s vigilance is always impressive, and, in this case, I would guess that their focus is on cybersecurity as much or more than physical security to ensure online financial transactions are seamless at these games.
Having now touched on over half of the CI sectors and their direct relevance to the Olympics, you can imagine what I’ll say now – they are all part of it, as integral as the rings that demonstrate the linking of athletes from around the world, so too do these sectors enable these athletes, coaches, family, friends, spectators, organizers, and security personnel to gather safely and remain powered, connected, fed, watered, transported, healthy, and housed. The mining, chemical, dams, defense, and critical manufacturing sectors also directly contribute to these positive outcomes, although I won’t go into depth on those here.
Now, let the games continue and end without further incident while we watch in awe and amazement at what all these amazing people -- and horses (says the horse enthusiast!) -- can do!