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From the Director The CIP Report

From the Director – January/February 2016

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Welcome to the January/February 2016 issue of The CIP Report, which takes a focused look at the Private Sector view of Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience.  As the vast majority of Critical Infrastructure capacity resides in private-sector firms, the corporate “bottom line” includes security and resilience.  Private-sector owner operators face the challenge of running efficient and profit generating firms while seeing to security and resilience considerations that transcend the boundaries of the enterprise.

Regulatory approaches provide guidelines and incentives for firms, but often carry unintended consequences.  In our first article Ted Lewis, formerly a faculty member of the Naval Postgraduate School, highlights physical internet vulnerability in the areas of resilient network redundancy that have resulted from cost-saving measures required by the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

Public-Private partnerships and collaboration are important to infrastructure security and resilience.  Kevin Clement of the Texas Office of Homeland Security provides an overview of the four 2015 workshops organized by the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government Coordinating Council (SLTTGCC), the Department of Homeland Security, Texas Office of Homeland Security, and Texas Oil and Gas Association that investigated critical supply chain issues and best practices for private-sector security and resilience in the energy sector.  The DHS Office of Infrastructure Protection then writes about efforts of the SLTTGCC and the Regional Consortium Coordinating Council (RC3) with the private sector to promote the establishment and growth of public-private partnerships across the country as assets for improving community resilience.

Finally, our partners from Argonne Labs, Frédéric Petit and Lawrence Paul Lewis, examine the nature of infrastructure dependencies that fall outside the typical categories of cyber, physical, and geographic connectivity, instead relying on human, social, and logical relationships found in communities and firms.

We welcome your comment and insights into Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience as it manifests in the private sector.  Thank you for your partnership and valuable thoughts!

Warm Regards,
TroutmanSignature
Mark Troutman. PhD
Director, CIP/HS


Regulation of the Communications Sector Considered Harmful

Posted: February 3, 2016

Ted Lewis, formerly of the Naval Postgraduate School, highlights the physical vulnerability of internet infrastructure that has followed regulations in the 1996 Telecommunications Act that call for cost savings through resource sharing at the expense of resilient network redundancy.

Critical Supply Chain (Oil and Gas) Workshops

Posted: February 11, 2016

Kevin Clement of the Texas Office of Homeland Security provides an overview of the four 2015 workshops hosted by a partnership between the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government Coordinating Council (SLTTGCC), the Department of Homeland Security, Texas Office of Homeland Security, and Texas Oil and Gas Association discussing critical supply chain issues, best practices, and lessons learned.

Incorporating Logical Dependencies and Interdependencies into Infrastructure Analyses

Posted: February 17, 2016

Frédéric Petit and Lawrence Paul Lewis from Argonne National Laboratory examine the nature of infrastructure dependencies that fall outside the typical categories of cyber, physical, and geographic connectivity, instead relying on human, social, and logical relationships.

Successes in Public-Private Partnerships Contribute to Private Sector Resilience

Posted: February 19, 2016

The DHS Office of Infrastructure Protection writes about the efforts of the SLTTGCC and the Regional Consortium Coordinating Council (RC3) in promoting the establishment and growth of public-private partnerships across the country as assets for improving community resilience.