At the Potsdam Conference for National Cybersecurity, AP Sensing demonstrated how Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) detects unauthorized access and fire events in real time during a simulated sabotage scenario.
The conference brought together representatives from government, industry, and academia to discuss current challenges in cybersecurity, resilience, and the protection of critical infrastructure. This year's program focused on the question of how strategic decisions can be translated into practical measures that strengthen Europe's security and digital sovereignty.
As part of the live demonstration, AP Sensing simulated a typical attack on a cable infrastructure. The scenario began with a person approaching the cable trough, followed by unauthorized access to the cable duct and concluded with a fire inside the cable management system.
Throughout the demonstration, AP Sensing's Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology detected and localized activities along the cable route. When the cable duct was opened, the system automatically identified the unauthorized access and generated an alarm. Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) detected the temperature increase caused by the fire and precisely localized the event in real time.
A key aspect of the demonstration was the correlation between early detection and response time. During the fire test, the cable management system maintained full cable functionality for more than 40 minutes at temperatures exceeding 470°C. At the same time, the embedded fiber optic sensing system continuously monitored the temperature development and fire spread. This provides operators and emergency responders with valuable time to assess the situation, initiate response measures, and help prevent service interruptions.
