Industry as a Critical Sector: The Final Article in AKI SR’s Series on Critical Sectors

The new Act No. 367/2024 Coll. on Critical Infrastructure, effective from 1 January 2025, also includes industry among the critical sectors. This is the final sector in the series covered by AKI SR as part of its overview of the new legal framework. Although industry, as defined by the Act, does not cover the entire manufacturing economy, its inclusion among critical sectors is of fundamental importance. It concerns areas whose disruption could affect healthcare, defence capability, energy, transport, construction, agriculture and food production, as well as other essential functions of the state.

Industry is also a sector strongly interconnected with other parts of critical infrastructure. Pharmaceutical production depends on chemical inputs, energy, water, logistics and qualified personnel. Metallurgical production is extremely sensitive to energy prices and availability, imported raw materials and the stability of technological processes. The chemical industry, in turn, is essential for many other sectors — from healthcare and agriculture to the defence industry.

Central Authority for the Industry Sector

The central authority for the industry sector under Act No. 367/2024 Coll. on Critical Infrastructure is the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic.

Within its competence, its role is to participate in the identification of critical entities, communicate with them, assess risks and contribute to ensuring the resilience of essential services in the industry sector.

Subsectors, Categories of Entities and Essential Services in the Industry Sector

According to Annex 1 to Act No. 367/2024 Coll. on Critical Infrastructure, the industry sector includes the following subsectors, categories of entities and essential services:

 Subsector:  Pharmaceutical industry

 Category of entities: manufacturers of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations classified according to   economic activities SK-NACE listed in Section C, Division 21 – Manufacturing

 Essential services: manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and basic pharmaceutical preparations

 Subsector: Metallurgical industry

 Category of entities: entities manufacturing basic aluminium products classified according to economic activities SK-NACE listed in   Section C, Division 24.1 Manufacture of basic iron, 24.42 – Aluminium production, 24.5 Casting of metals

 Essential services: manufacture of primary aluminium, manufacture of aluminium semi-finished products, manufacture of steel,   manufacture of basic iron and casting of metals

 Subsector: Chemical industry

 Category of entities: entities manufacturing basic products from chemicals and chemical products classified according to economic   activities SK-NACE listed in Section C, Division 20

 Essential services: manufacture of chemical fibres, manufacture of organic chemicals, manufacture of chemical substances not   elsewhere defined

This shows that the industry sector is not defined in Annex 1 as the entire industrial economy in general terms. The Act works with specific subsectors, categories of entities and essential services. It is precisely this connection that determines which industrial activities may be relevant for the identification of a critical entity.

In other words, what matters is not only whether a company operates in industry, but whether it falls within the category of entities listed in Annex 1, whether it provides the relevant essential service and whether it is subsequently identified as a critical entity under the procedure set out in the Act.

Why These Particular Industrial Areas?

The inclusion of the pharmaceutical, metallurgical and chemical industries among critical areas is not accidental. These are sectors with a high degree of strategic dependence, long supply chains, demanding technological processes and fundamental importance for the functioning of the state in crisis situations.

The pharmaceutical industry is key to the availability of medicines, active substances and pharmaceutical preparations. The COVID-19 pandemic showed how vulnerable global supply chains for healthcare and pharmaceutical products can be. Shortages of input materials, export restrictions or dependence on production outside the European Union can have a direct impact on the health security of the population.

The metallurgical industry forms the basis for infrastructure projects, energy, transport, mechanical engineering, the defence industry and construction. The production of steel, basic iron, aluminium and metal casting are energy-intensive activities that require stable supplies of energy, raw materials and technologies. Their disruption can very quickly spill over into other sectors.

The chemical industry is a quiet but extremely important foundation of the modern economy. Chemical substances and products are used in the production of medicines, plastics, fertilisers, cleaning products, construction materials, textiles, fuels, batteries and many other products. A disruption in chemical production may not be immediately visible, but its consequences can be felt across the entire economy.

Risks in the Industry Sector

The industry sector is among the most sensitive areas in terms of the combination of physical, economic, technological and cyber risks. Industrial companies often operate in continuous production regimes, use complex technological lines and depend on stable inputs. The failure of one part of the chain can stop the entire process.

The most significant risks include in particular:

• energy dependence — the metallurgical and chemical industries are among the most energy-intensive sectors. Fluctuations in energy prices or the unavailability of energy can threaten both the economic sustainability of production and operational continuity;
• dependence on imported raw materials and components — many inputs for pharmaceutical, metallurgical and chemical production come from abroad. Geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions or logistical disruptions may cause shortages of key materials;
• cyber threats — modern industry is increasingly digitalised. Production technologies, control systems, logistics and warehouse management depend on information and operational technologies. An attack on industrial control systems can have not only economic but also security consequences;
• technological vulnerability — many production processes are continuous, and their interruption may lead to equipment damage, production losses or safety incidents;
• shortage of qualified labour — the industrial sectors listed in the Act require specialised professions, technicians, operators, chemists, pharmacists, metallurgists and experts in the maintenance of technological equipment;
• environmental and safety risks — chemical and metallurgical production involves substances and processes that, in the event of an accident, may pose risks to health, the environment and surrounding communities;
• interconnection with other critical infrastructure sectors — industry depends on energy, transport, digital infrastructure, water, financial services and public administration. At the same time, these sectors often depend on industrial inputs.

Industry is therefore not an isolated sector. It is a node through which raw materials, energy, technologies, data, logistics and human expertise flow. This is why it requires special attention when building the resilience of the state.

A Numerical View of the Importance of Industry

Industry has long held an exceptionally strong position in the Slovak economy. Slovakia is among the European Union countries with a high share of industry in economic output and employment. The manufacturing sector is important not only for exports, but also for regional development, innovation and technological modernisation.

The Slovak economy is strongly industry-oriented. Industry accounts for a significant share of gross value added and employs hundreds of thousands of people. Particularly important are sectors with high energy intensity and a high degree of integration into international supply chains.

In the context of critical infrastructure, however, it is not only the size of the sector in economic statistics that matters. A small number of specialised manufacturers may be more important in a crisis situation than a large number of ordinary operations. In pharmaceutical, metallurgical or chemical production, the decisive factor may be whether domestic or accessible European capacity exists for the production of a specific input, material or product.

From the perspective of state resilience, it is therefore not enough to monitor only production volume, exports or employment figures. It is also important to understand which production capacities are difficult to replace, which technologies are unique, where dependence on a single supplier exists and where a disruption could trigger a chain reaction.

Industry as a Matter of Security, Not Only the Economy

In the past, industry was often perceived mainly as part of economic policy. However, the new legal framework for critical infrastructure shows that selected industrial sectors are also a matter of security, continuity of essential services and the strategic resilience of the state.

Pharmaceutical production is linked to health security. Metallurgical production is linked to physical infrastructure, defence and energy. Chemical production is linked to a wide range of downstream sectors. If these areas fail, the problem will not be reflected only in corporate results, but also in the state’s ability to respond to crises.

Industry therefore needs to be approached as part of the state’s security architecture. This means systematically analysing risks, strengthening resilience, preparing disruption scenarios, supporting cooperation between the public and private sectors and connecting physical security with cybersecurity.

The Role of AKI SR

The Critical Infrastructure Association of the Slovak Republic views the industry sector as a natural part of the discussion on the security and resilience of the state. AKI SR is an independent and non-political platform that connects stakeholders from the fields of critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, the defence industry, public administration, academia and the private sector.

The role of AKI SR is to create space for expert discussion, the sharing of experience and the search for practical solutions. In the field of industry, such cooperation is essential. No company, ministry or expert community can independently cover all the risks related to supply chains, energy, cybersecurity, physical protection, personnel capacity or crisis management.

AKI SR therefore supports cross-sectoral dialogue, the linking of expertise and awareness-raising about the fact that critical infrastructure is not merely a matter of formal inclusion in a list of critical entities. It is above all a matter of preparedness, responsibility and the ability to maintain the basic functions of society even in times of crisis.

Conclusion

The industry sector concludes AKI SR’s series of articles on critical sectors under the new Act on Critical Infrastructure. It is symbolic that industry is the final topic of this series. It shows that the resilience of the state is not created only in security strategies, but also in production halls, laboratories, metallurgical operations, chemical plants, warehouses, logistics hubs and control systems.

The new Act No. 367/2024 Coll. on Critical Infrastructure creates a legal framework that makes it possible to identify more precisely which entities and services are key to the functioning of the state. However, real resilience will depend on how this framework is translated into practice — into cooperation between the state and companies, realistic risk assessment, investment in security and the ability to respond to new types of threats.



Industry is not only production. In the context of critical infrastructure, it is one of the fundamental pillars of the stability, security and strategic autonomy of the Slovak Republic.