Introducing the Critical Infrastructure Sectors: Postal Services

Why postal services are critical infrastructure

Postal services ensure the physical movement of consignments, documents and goods between citizens, businesses and public authorities. Even in the digital era, postal communication remains irreplaceable for the delivery of official decisions, court documents, electoral materials, pensions, medicines and e-commerce consignments. An outage or long-term disruption of this service has direct impacts on the exercise of public authority, the social security of the population, the functioning of the business environment and, in crisis situations, also on the supply of the population.

It is precisely this combination – nationwide availability, connection to the exercise of state administration and interlinkage with goods logistics – that is the reason why the legislator classified postal services among the sectors of critical infrastructure.

Central state administration body

The central body of state administration for the postal services sector is the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic. The Ministry is responsible for the formulation of policy in the area of postal services, designates the critical infrastructure entities within the sector, assesses risk analyses and security plans of operators, and coordinates the sector with other state components in the management of emergencies. Regulatory competences in the area of the postal market are exercised by the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Postal Services.

Which entities are part of the postal services sector

Within the postal services sector, the Act does not define sub-sectors. The entities are providers of the universal postal service pursuant to § 3 par. 1 of Act No. 324/2011 Coll. on Postal Services and on Amendments to Certain Acts:

§ 3 Universal Service
(1) The universal service is an offer of postal services under paragraph 2, which serves to ensure the minimum satisfaction of the needs of all users of postal services within the territory of the Slovak Republic, so as to ensure the availability of access points of the public postal network and contact points of the public postal network, under equal conditions, in the prescribed quality, at a reasonable price, every working day with at least one collection and delivery per day. The provider of the universal service is one or more postal undertakings, which is obliged to provide the universal service on the basis of a postal licence and under the conditions and in the manner set out in this Act.

The provider of the universal postal service is the entity to which this obligation has been imposed on the basis of a postal licence issued by the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Postal Services. In the territory of the Slovak Republic, the provider is Slovenská pošta, which by law ensures the nationwide delivery of letter consignments, registered and official consignments, parcels up to a specified weight, as well as postal payment services, including the payment of pensions and social benefits.

An entity providing the universal postal service becomes a critical infrastructure entity in the postal services sector upon meeting the criteria set by the Act on Critical Infrastructure and its implementing regulations, with the decision on inclusion being made by the central body of state administration.

Within the postal services sector, the following areas are distinguished in particular:



·       Universal postal service – nationwide delivery of letter consignments, registered consignments, official consignments and parcels up to a specified weight, including the delivery of pensions and money orders.

·       Postal payment services – payment of social benefits, pensions and other monetary entitlements through the postal network.

·       Delivery of official consignments – delivery of documents from public authorities with legal effects (legal fiction of delivery).

·       Express and courier services and parcel delivery – commercial delivery of consignments, including the e-commerce segment.

·       Sorting and logistics centres – hub facilities ensuring the processing and routing of consignments.

Specifics of the sector

Postal services have several characteristics that distinguish them from other sectors:

·       Nationwide coverage and accessibility – the network of post offices and delivery districts covers the entire territory of the state, including sparsely populated areas.

·       Personnel intensity – operations rely on a large number of delivery personnel and branch employees, which makes the sector sensitive to labour-related disruptions.

·       Hybrid nature – a combination of physical logistics and digital systems (sorting lines, IT for consignment tracking, electronic services).

·       Connection to public authority – delivery with legal effects, payment of benefits, distribution of electoral materials.

·       Cross-border dimension – interconnection with international postal operations and customs procedures.

Risks of the sector

The sector faces a combination of physical, personnel, technological and cyber risks:

·       failure of sorting centres (fire, technical malfunction, sabotage),

·       cyberattacks on information systems, ransomware on the control systems of sorting lines,

·       disruption of electricity and fuel supplies,

·       shortage of delivery personnel, strikes, pandemic restrictions,

·       misuse of the postal network for the transport of dangerous substances or prohibited goods,

·       dependence on external IT and logistics service providers,

·       growing pressure of e-commerce on network capacity and the related operational risks.

In crisis scenarios (energy crisis, armed conflict, large-scale cyber incident), the ability of the post to continue delivering official consignments and paying out benefits is one of the indicators of the state's resilience towards the population.

Support from AKI

If you are an operator of postal or parcel services, a logistics centre, or a supplier of critical technologies for this sector, and you are addressing issues related to inclusion among critical infrastructure entities, the preparation of a risk analysis, a security plan, or the fulfilment of obligations under the Act on Critical Infrastructure, the Association of Critical Infrastructure of the Slovak Republic will provide you with professional support, consultations and methodological guidance. Do not hesitate to contact us via the contact details provided at www.akisr.sk.