Critical Infrastructure

966 Words2 Pages

In this nation, having a solid critical infrastructure is a very fundamental part of a highly functioning government. According to the Department of Homeland Security (2017), the country’s critical infrastructure provides the essential services that underpin American society and serve as the backbone of our nation’s economy, security, and health. It keeps all parts of a government intact and running effectively, and without it, the processes, systems, and facilities cannot operate appropriately. There are many reasons as to why terrorist groups would want to target infrastructure, including breaching through the government to create chaos and havoc. By doing this, terrorists can produce disorganization and concern among our economy, security …show more content…

This term became official after a bombing attack, with the government realizing that there is a greater need for more protection of certain systems that keep this nation running. In addition, after past terrorist threats and attacks such as 9/11, the definition of critical infrastructure expanded to a purpose of the coordination of the cyber-related federal efforts and programs associated with protecting critical information infrastructure systems (Forest & Howard, 2013). Following this, there were many plans and programs created to increase security of the critical infrastructure of this nation. Unfortunately, there are a few generalizations concerning the nature of critical infrastructure that can be made in the context of terrorism. The first generalization is that critical infrastructures are made up of a vast and diverse set of systems and assets (Forest & Howard, 2013). There are many categories within critical infrastructure, and with new ones emerging regularly, it is easier to list examples of the critical infrastructure types. These examples, by all means, do not consider all types and should be referenced in broadening the understanding of critical infrastructure. Secondly, it is clear that almost all aspects of critical infrastructure can be broadly recognized as either “physical” or “cyber” targets, …show more content…

Critical infrastructures, or governmental infrastructures in general, are a major target for terrorist groups and there are many reasons as to why these systems are targeted. At first, certain aspects for carrying out an attack, such as on critical infrastructure, could include desired casualty levels, the degree of publicity sought, whether a target should be symbolic or suffices, the type of reaction the attack will cause, expected secondary effects and reactions, and how large or small the attack (Forest & Howard, 2013). Having knowledge of all these elements for carrying out an attack, the government can make sure to be prepared for any type of situation that may take place. On the other hand, there are numerous reasons why terrorist groups might attack critical infrastructure including, the disruption of society, ideological predilection towards a critical infrastructure sector, symbolic relevance of critical infrastructure, attacking critical infrastructure as organization building, casualty control, familiarity with critical infrastructure, and precedent and adaptation (Forest & Howard, 2013). Any of these reasons could be why terrorist groups would want to attack infrastructures, but more than likely it will be due to multiple reasons at once and not one sole reason. There is no single explanation

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