Critical infrastructure

While it is not so easy to definitively define terrorism and/or the terrorist, we have less difficulty identifying the likely targets of terrorists. In America, we call these likely targets our critical infrastructure. 

Among other things, the new emphasis on homeland security pointed to the need to protect and enhance the security of the nation s critical infrastructure. Critical infrastructure can be defined or listed in many ways. Generally, governments use the term to describe material assets that are essential for the functioning of an economy and a society. For the purpose of this text, critical infrastructure is defined as those assets of physical and computer-based systems that are essential to the minimum operations of our economy and government. Critical infrastructures (in the authors opinion), are the following ... 

We hope that this book and the others in the critical infrastructure series will aid in the prevention and mitigation of deliberate attacks. 

HSPD -7 Critical Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization, and Protection. Establishes a national policy for federal departments and agencies to identify and prioritize critical U.S. infrastructure and key resources and to protect them from terrorist attacks. 

It is important to point out that post-9/11 the chemical industry sector has taken great strides to protect its critical infrastructure. For instance, government and industry have developed vulnerability assessment methodologies for critical infrastructure systems and trained thousands of auditors and others to conduct them. 

Clark, R. M., and R. A. Deininger. 2000. Protecting the nation s critical infrastructure The vulnerability of U.S. water supply systems. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 8 (2) 76-80. 

In 2000, the FBI identified and listed threats to critical infrastructure. These threats are listed and described in table 7.1. 

Sandia National Laboratories Common Vulnerabilities in Critical Infrastructure Control Systems described some of the common problems it has identified in the following five categories (Stamp et al. 2003) ... 

In July 2002, the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) reported that the potential for compound cyber and physical attacks, referred to as swarming attacks, is an emerging threat to the U.S. critical infrastructure. As NIPC reports, the effects of a swarming attack include slowing or complicating the response to a physical attack. 

The President s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board and the Department of Energy (DOE) have developed the steps outlined below to help organizations improve the security of their SCADA networks. DOE (2001) points out that these steps are not meant to be prescriptive or all-inclusive. However, they do address essential actions to be taken to improve the protection of SCADA networks. The steps are divided into two categories specific actions to improve implementation, and actions to establish essential underlying management processes and policies. 

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 2000. Threats to critical infrastructure. Washington, DC Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Government Accountability Office (GAO). 2003. Critical infrastructure protection Challenges in securing control systems. Washington, DC Government Accountability Office. 

Stamp, J., et al, 2003. Common vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure control systems. 2nd ed. Albuquerque, NM Sandia National Laboratories. 

The term terrorism, according to HSA, Sect. 4(15), is defined as any activity that — (A) involves an act that — (i) is dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key resources and (ii) is a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State or other subdivision of the United States and (B) appears to be intended — (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population (ii) to influence the policy or a government by intimidation or coercion or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping. 

Stevens, G.M. Congressional Research Service, Homeland Security Act of 2002 Critical Infrastructure Information Act (28 February 2003). 

Partnership for Critical Infrastructure Security (PCIS) http //www.pcis.org... 

Keywords Critical information infrastructure Critical Infrastructure Protection Security... 

This paper first discusses critical infrastructures, its relation with security concepts, and the features that are relevant for understanding the challenges they pose to society. Then, the critical information infrastructure is analyzed, with reflections on the requirements and constraint for its protection, and the... 

---