Protecting America's Critical Infrastructure: Making Our Program More Effective
Abstract
Critical Infrastructure in the United States is defined by the Patriot Act of 2001 as "systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters. The United States is challenged to protect its critical infrastructure from attacks by terrorists and from natural disasters for a variety of reasons. A contributing reason for inefficiencies is the way the current program as established by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7) (2003) assigns responsibilities. Initially, the author will address the definition of critical infrastructure and attempt to determine if this definition is adequate, and then move to an examination of the current program to see if there are ways to gain efficiencies and effectiveness. He also will determine if there is a common method to analyze critical infrastructure (i.e., vulnerability, risk, and cost-benefit analysis) to determine how the United States should prioritize funding for critical infrastructure protection. Finally, recommendations are provided to make the critical infrastructure program more effective.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 15, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA448435
Entities
People
- Christopher Martin
Organizations
- United States Army War College