Infrastructure protectionSecuring U.S. critical infrastructure

Published 12 January 2011

The Homeland Security & Defense Business council recently released its report on securing America’s critical infrastructure; the report found that since 9/11, the United States has made tangible strides in securing critical infrastructure; the report emphasized increasing communication and cooperation among the federal, state, and private sector entities to develop plans and allocate resources to defending the nation

The other day the Homeland Security & Defense Business Council (HSDBC) released its report on securing America’s critical infrastructure.

The HSDBC found that before 9/11, the government, businesses, and individuals hardly paid any attention to the security of America’s critical infrastructure. Critical computer networks were designed for ease of use and access rather than security against attacks, and bridges and tunnels were never designed with the idea of withstanding a bomb blast.

The 9/11 attacks exposed the weakness of America’s critical infrastructure and served as the impetus for government action. President George W. Bush established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was given the responsibility of restoring critical infrastructure in the event of an attack.

The president also created the Critical Infrastructure Protection Board and the National Infrastructure Advisory Council to advise the president on securing key elements of U.S. infrastructure.

The HSDBC applauded these actions, but it found that a significant gap remains in determining how to prioritize protecting or fixing critical infrastructure. Under Presidential Decision Directive PDD-63, passed by President Clinton in 1998, the federal government began identifying critical infrastructure sectors and assigning responsibility for spearheading coordinated protection efforts to various agencies.

The directive determines critical infrastructure from a federal level without the input of state and local governments. This means that what the federal government determines to be critical may be at odds with what local governments determine to be critical, leading to potential misallocation of resources and effort.

Therefore to ensure unity of effort and the best use of resources, the report recommends that preparedness plans must address protecting critical infrastructure at both the national and local level.

Acknowledging the monumental task of securing every aspect of our critical infrastructure and the inherent impossibility of a single entity doing it single-handedly, the report repeatedly called for greater cooperation and partnership among federal, state, and the private sector to develop short and long-term plans and utilize resources effectively to secure our nation.

This report comes as part of the 9/10/11 Project, which examines how far U.S “prevention, preparedness , response, and resiliency structures changed, matured, and become operational.”

Beginning on 10 September 2010, the HSDBC has released one report on the tenth of each month assessing efforts by the United States to secure the nation. The final report will be released on 10 September 2011, the day before the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.