Critical Foundations: Protecting America's Infrastructures. The Report of the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection.
Abstract
There is no doubt that our critical infrastructures are the best in the world-largely the result of the tremendous efficiency and global reach made possible by incorporation of our rapidly advancing information and communication technology. In fact, we found all our infrastructures increasingly dependent on information and communications systems that criss-cross the nation and span the globe. That dependence is the source of rising vulnerabilities and, therefore, it is where we concentrated our effort. We found no evidence of an impending cyber attack which could have a debilitating effect on the nation's critical infrastructures. While we see no electronic disaster around the corner, this is no basis for complacency. We did find widespread capability to exploit infrastructure vulnerabilities. The capability to do harm-particularly through information networks - is real; it is growing at an alarming rate; and we have little defense against it. Because the infrastructures are mainly privately owned and operated, we concluded that critical infrastructure assurance is a shared responsibility of the public and private sectors. The only sure path to protected infrastructures in the years ahead is through a real partnership between infrastructure owners and operators and the government. Consequently, in addition to our recommendations about improving our government's focus on infrastructure assurance in the Information Age, you will find some recommendations for collaborative public and private organizational arrangements that challenge our conventional way of thinking about government and private sector interaction.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 13, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA331523