Critical Infrastructure Article Index for
Critical
Articles about
Critical Infrastructure
Website Links For
Critical
 

Information About

Critical Infrastructure




Critical infrastructure is a term used by Government s to describe material Assets that are essential for the functioning of a society and economy. Most commonly associated with the term are facilities for:


Critical-infrastructure protection is the study, design and implementation of precautionary measures aimed to reduce the risk that critical infrastructure fails as the result of War , Disaster , Civil Unrest , Vandalism , or Sabotage .


NATIONAL CRITICAL-INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION PROGRAMMES



Germany


The German critical-infrastructure protection programme includes IT systems, headed by the German Federal Office For Information Security .


United Kingdom

In the UK the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure provides information, personnel and physical security advice to the businesses and organisations which make up the UK's national infrastructure, helping to reduce its vulnerability to terrorism and other threats.

It can call on resources from other government departments and agencies, including MI5 , the Communications Electronics Security Group and other Government departments responsible for national infrastructure sectors.


United States

The USA has had a wide-reaching Critical Infrastructure Protection Program in place since 1996. Its Patriot Act of 2001 defined critical infrastructure as those "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 debilitation impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters."

These have identified a number of critical infrastructures and responsible agencies:

# Agriculture and Food – Departments of Agriculture and Health And Human Services
# WaterEnvironmental Protection Agency
# Public Health – Department Of Health And Human Services
# Emergency Services – Department Of Homeland Security
# GovernmentDepartment Of Homeland Security
# Defense Industrial BaseDepartment Of Defense
# Information and TelecommunicationsDepartment Of Commerce
# EnergyDepartment Of Energy
# Transport ation and ShippingDepartment Of Transportation
# Banking and FinanceDepartment Of The Treasury
# Chemical Industry and Hazardous Material s – Department Of Homeland Security
# PostDepartment Of Homeland Security
# National Monuments and icons - Department Of The Interior


EXTERNAL LINKS