Center for Infrastructure Protection & Homeland Security

In the News – This Week in Critical Infrastructure: Week of August 22, 2016

This Week in Critical Infrastructure, we have articles from, Wired, The Guardian, FCW, and several others, as well as an editorial from the New York Times on severe weather events. You’ll find articles on cybersecurity, flooding in Louisiana, and the earthquake that struck Italy.


Security News This Week: Eddie Bauer Stores, Hotels and Hospitals Hacked

Lily Hay Newman, writing for Wired, provides coverage of multiple recent cyber attacks, including strikes against Eddie Bauer and HEI Hotels, as well as trends in the use of ransomware against hospitals and other health service providers.

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After Louisiana, Preparing for the Next Storm

The Editorial Board for the New York Times wrote this week on the need for greater policy development in the wake of multiple major flood events this year in West Virginia, South Carolina, and most recently Louisiana. Writing in favor of recent FEMA regulations that mandate high elevations for federally-funded construction projects in flood-prone areas, the editors argue that these regulations ultimately don’t go far enough.

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India Ranked 77 in Disaster Risk Index of the World

The Hindu explains India’s ranking of 77 on the World Risk Index, citing weak logistics and critical infrastructure as added risks for natural disaster emergency response.

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Decrepit Infrastructure Denies Millions Urgent Natural Disaster Aid, Study Says

Kate Hodal writing for The Guardian covers the issuance of the 2016 World Risk Report and describes the vast scope of insufficient critical infrastructure and its effect on the global population.

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NPPD Still Hopeful on Infrastructure Protection

Mark Rockwell of FCW discusses DHS officials’ hope for a plan to place cybersecurity analysts in the Office of Infrastructure Protection, as well as several examples of cyber incidents affecting private corporations and their security.

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Italy’s Deadly Earthquake Highlights Its Huge Problem With Infrastructure

Michael Reilly offers an examination of Italy’s poor record on avoiding massive destruction from earthquakes for the MIT Technology Review, using this week’s magnitude 6.2 earthquake as an example of Italy’s poor infrastructure.

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Philippines to Fast-Track Approval of More Infrastructure Projects

From Reuters, the Philippines has changed its process of approving critical infrastructure projects by no longer requiring projects worth US$107.5 million to receive approval from the nation’s economic planning agency.

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