Infrastructure, information Internet

The Internet, the very same element that has made the Information Society a reality has also allowed all kinds of hacker communities to flourish, by providing them with increased and inexpensive communication means. This not only has resulted in vast increase in the numbers of potential attackers, but has also led to a wide proliferation of malicious tools and techniques that are now available to any interested party, literally one click away. Thus, the threats against the critical information infrastructure are many and the likelihood of their appearance is very high. Similarly, considering that attacks are becoming all the more sophisticated, one concludes that the likelihood of a serious attack to succeed is also very high. 

The critical information infrastructure (CII) is a subset of the critical infrastructure, composed of the totality of interconnected computers and networks and their critical information flows [8]0, comprising therefore a vast range of components and systems, extending from hardware (satellites, routers), to software (operating systems, Internet protocols, databases), to data (DNS tables), to the processes and operations applied for running them [16]0. The CII includes typical information systems and telecommunications services, but increasingly now industrial systems (as for instance, the remote control of installations). 

Christine L. Borgman. 2007. Scholarship in the Digital Age Information, Infrastructure, and the Internet. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press. 

Strategic and tactical consideration for how the pharmacy software solution matches up with the clinical information systems, Internet solutions, health resource planning, access management, decision support, home care, managed care, and infrastructure applications. 

The escalating use of networking services, such as the Internet, is continuously changing the scenario of CII. The utilization of information and communication technologies in central functions and procedures by all social and economic elements evolves with the development of technologies, and in different ways—and this is particularly true for the other critical infrastructures. The same policy and technical options for the protection of CII, and as a consequence CIP, are affected what can be today a sound protection option, might introduce vulnerabilities to be discovered much later. 

Internet to transfer information, an organization pays only for the local connections. The long distance connection is already provided. Consequently, the Internet leverages the existing communications infrastructure of the world for the benefit of those attached to it. 

Just look at the preponderance of Web site addresses on radio and television commercials today. The Web has become a hot button that advertising companies love to exploit. But very few people realize what the Internet actually is. Some people think it s a public thoroughfare for information (hence the moniker information superhighway ). Others believe it to be some kind of new high-tech toy. In reality, however, the Internet is just a mesh of interconnected private networks that spans the globe. Whether it is the Internet or a local network at your school or place of work, the basic concepts remain the same. Because of this, to understand the Internet, you really must understand its underlying infrastructures networks. 

Information systems—by which we mean an interrelated suite of communication and computation technologies—are the third infrastructure we consider. In addition to the spread of information services across the population, the other important development during the twentieth century was the advent of wireless information systems. First, the country was hardwired for telephony, and then systems of wireless telephony were built. First, the internet was built on a hardwired infrastructure. Now increasingly it is based on wireless networks. These trends point to a future in which information continues to be untethered from location. 

With rapid expansion of the Internet in the Information Age, the Internet is becoming a part of our social space and becoming a foundation for a global virtual community. In other words, the Internet is becoming part of the infrastructure of the global socioeconomy. One of the IBM vice presidents responsible for the corporate technology and strategy, who also took the role of the scientific advisor to a president of the United States, made an assertion that one million businesses, one billion people, and one trillion devices will be... 

The traditional security model can neither ensure confidentiality of sensitive healthcare information and protection of personal privacy nor conform to the governing legislation (e.g., HIPAA in United States, PIPEDA and FIPPA in Canada, EU Privacy Directive in the European countries) when healthcare services are offered through a public infrastructure such as the Internet. Obviously the security policy for an IT system will remain as only part of the traditional big picture, which includes physical security (e.g., locks for buildings, badge access to secure rooms), logical security (e.g., passwords for computers or networks, smartcards), and operational policies and procedures... 

Application service providers wUl grow in importance as developers and hosts of information systems, particularly for smaU and mid-sized firms. These are firms that need an IS (e.g., for human resources functions) but cannot afford the infrastructure. For a rental fee, an application service provider (ASP) operates ISs for other companies on its own computing facilities (i.e., servers). ASP customers access their ISs via the Internet or private networks. ASPs specialize in various ways, such as hosting ISs for a particular industry (e.g., health care) or a particular class of ISs (e.g., transorganizational). 

National Public Inclusive Infrastructure (NPII) is a coalition of academic, industry, and nongovernmental organizations and individuals coming together to promote the creation of a National Public Inclusive Infrastructure (NPII). The purpose is to ensure that everyone who faces accessibility can access and use the Internet and all its information, communities, and services for education, employment, daily living, civic participation, health, and safety, http //npii.org. 

In addition to a wired network infrastructure, there is increasing utility to be found in a wireless network infrastructure, providing the advantage of mobility. Applications include wireless patient networks, voice-over Internet Protocol (IP) for mobile communications, and communication with handheld information terminals carried by each physician. A wireless infrastructure requires careful planning, with attention being paid to access points, data rates, and electromagnetic compatibility with medical devices. Current standards such as IEEE 802.11b allowing data rates of 11 Mbps facilitate the seamless coexistence of wireless and wired networks. The use of lower-spread-spectrum techniques in wireless applications reduces problems associated wit medical device interference. 

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