How Secure Are Networked Systems?
PRESS RELEASE
Cyberattacks on Supermarkets Highlight the Importance of Secure Digital Architectures
Dresden, November 5, 2026 - The Barkhausen Institut (BI) in Dresden conducts research into how networked digital systems can be designed to limit the impact of attacks on individual components. Recent cyberattacks on supermarkets in several European countries, including Germany, illustrate how directly security vulnerabilities in digital control systems can affect everyday life. Attackers manipulated the digital controls of refrigeration systems, causing them to switch from cooling to defrost or heating mode. As a result, large quantities of food had to be discarded.
Modern technical systems can often be monitored and controlled remotely. While this makes maintenance and operation easier, it also creates potential points of attack. If control systems are compromised, digital interference can have immediate physical consequences.
One approach being pursued at the BI is the modularization and isolation of hardware and software components. With its M³ operating system, the institute is developing an architecture for networked devices in which individual components are separated from one another by default. The operating system alone can selectively authorize communication between them. This is intended to prevent an attack from spreading uncontrollably to other components.
"In M³, a dedicated hardware component called the Trusted Communication Unit (TCU) controls communication between components. This provides a technical safeguard that ensures components can communicate with one another only when explicitly authorized by the operating system," says Dr.-Ing. Michael Roitzsch, Head of the Composable Operating Systems research group.
This approach can help limit the impact of a successful attack. By embedding security mechanisms directly into the system architecture, it also provides a secure foundation for remote maintenance access, complementing existing safeguards such as access controls and regular software updates.
Press Contact
Annika Höritz
PR Manager
Email: annika.hoeritz@barkhauseninstitut.org
Phone: +49 173 5327218