Infrastructure protection

How Can Countries Protect Critical Infrastructure from Cyberattacks?
Hacking attacks on power grids, telecom networks, or governments can paralyze entire societies. That makes them a powerful military weapon, as the war in Ukraine demonstrates. How can countries protect themselves?
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What Is Hurricane Storm Surge, and Why Can It Be So Catastrophic?
As a hurricane reaches the coast, it pushes a huge volume of ocean water ashore. This is what we call storm surge. Of all the hazards that hurricanes bring, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property along the coast.
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Hundreds of Hospitals on Atlantic and Gulf Coasts at Risk of Flooding from Hurricanes
Researchers identified 682 acute care hospitals in 78 metropolitan statistical areas located within 10 miles of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States, covering a population just under 85 million people, or about 1 in 4 Americans. They found that 25 of the 78 metro areas studied have half or more of their hospitals at risk of flooding from a Category 2 storm.
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Champlain Towers South Investigation Completes Site Testing
Members of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) completed testing at the former site of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Florida, collecting data to help improve computer models that will be used to evaluate potential causes of the June 2021 collapse.
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3 Reasons Hurricane Ian Poses a Major Flooding Hazard for Florida
Hurricane Ian has now been upgraded to Category 4, with winds just under 155 mph. But the scale doesn’t take water risk into account, and flooding and storm surge are both major risks from Ian. Here are three reasons Florida is facing a high risk of water hazards this week.
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Underwater Critical Infrastructure Unprotected
The many underwater pipelines, internet lines, and power cables are not protected. Western military and intelligence services have been warning for years that as the world has become more and more dependent on this underwater network, Russia has shown a growing interest in developing the capabilities to disrupt this underwater infrastructure.
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Burying Short Sections of Power Lines Could Drastically Reduce Hurricanes' Impact on Coastal Residents
As Earth warms, people living near the coasts not only face a higher risk of major hurricanes but are also more likely to experience heat waves while grappling with widespread power outages. Strategically burying just 5% of power lines — specifically those near main distribution points — would almost halve the number of affected residents.
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Puerto Rico’s Vulnerability to Hurricanes Is Magnified by Weak Government and Bureaucratic Roadblocks
Hurricane Maria caused extensive damage to Puerto Rico’s power grid in 2017 that left many residents without electricity for months. Rebuilding it has been hampered by technical, political and financial challenges. Now Hurricane Fiona has, again, exposed the sorry state of Puerto power grid.
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Rapid Land Sinking Leaves Cities Vulnerable to Rising Seas
Sea levels are rising as Earth’s ice sheets melt and as warming sea water expands, but many densely populated coastal cities around the world are more vulnerable to sea level rise because large amounts of their land are sinking. They suggest that an increase in industrial processes such as the extraction of groundwater, oil, and gas, as well as the rapid construction of buildings and other urban infrastructure may be contributing to this vulnerability.
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Cracking the Secrets to Earthquake Safety, One Shake Simulation at a Time
A new experimental capability, designed to replicate realistic earthquakes in the laboratory, paired with the world’s fastest supercomputers, will help lead to resilient buildings and infrastructure across the U.S.
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Rising Seas Threaten Tax Bases as Private Property Falls Below Tidelines
New analysis from Climate Central quantifies the risk of sea level rise to the tax bases of hundreds of coastal counties across 24 states and Washington, D.C. as more land falls beneath the tideline. More than 48,000 properties are projected to be entirely below their states’ tidal boundary levels by 2050, with roughly 64,000 buildings at least partially below the high tide line. By 2100 more than one million properties with a combined assessed value exceeding $108 billion are projected to be at least partly submerged at high tide.
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Modeling Thawing at Base of Antarctic Ice Sheet
Across Antarctica, some parts of the base of the ice sheet are frozen, while others are thawed. Scientists show that if some currently frozen areas were also to thaw, it could increase ice loss from glaciers that are not currently major sea-level contributors.
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Three Iranian Nationals Charged with Cyber Plots Against U.S. Critical Infrastructure Providers
An indictment was unsealed Wednesday charging three Iranian nationals with allegedly orchestrating a scheme to hack into the computer networks of multiple U.S. victims, including critical infrastructure providers. The defendants’ hacking campaign exploited known vulnerabilities in commonly used network devices and software applications to gain access and exfiltrate data and information from victims’ computer systems.
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Better Human-Machine Coordination to Thwart Growing Threats to the U.S. Power Grid
The U.S. electrical grid faces a mounting barrage of threats which could trigger a butterfly effect – floods, superstorms, heat waves, cyberattacks, not to mention its own ballooning complexity and size – which the nation is unprepared to handle. Researchers have plans to prevent and respond to potential power grid failures.
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“Prediction Markets” Could Improve Climate Risk Policies and Investment Decisions
A market-led approach could be key to guiding policy, research and business decisions about future climate risks, a new study outlines. The paper details how expert ‘prediction markets’ could improve the climate-risk forecasts that guide key business and regulatory decisions.
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