...Introduction There are many different resource infrastructures throughout the United States, each one designated a purpose that must be fulfilled. Of these sectors however, a few are critical in the upkeep of this country, so critical that if one were to fail it would cause widespread panic. The following paragraphs will detail a small part of one of these Critical Infrastructures. Making no mistake though, as it is only a small cog in the entire system, without it would put strain on the entire economy. Government Partner The partner that I currently work for is the Tribal Nation. The Tribal nation is becoming a very important part of food and agriculture. Recently gaining a $625 million donation from the United States Drug Administration (USDA) in order to boost economic growth in Indian Country. Working with the Tribal Nations will not only increase food and agriculture production but also extend the list of collaborative partners within the Food and Agriculture Sector. ("Expanding Opportunity In Indian Country", 2014) Position Title and Responsibilities The position title that I currently work for is known as the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC). The IAC has grown in prominence in Indian Country from there founding in 1987. Since there founding they have grown to grow the support of the federal government agencies, particularly the agricultural field. There job responsibilities are to work directly with outside governments in the United States on behalf of the individual...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...The U.S. CIP is a national program to ensure the security of vulnerable and interconnected infrastructures of the United States The United States possesses both the world's strongest military and its largest national economy. Those two aspects of our power are mutually reinforcing and dependent. They are also increasingly reliant upon certain critical infrastructures and upon cyber-based information systems. Critical infrastructures are those physical and cyber-based systems essential to the minimum operations of the economy and government. They include, but are not limited to, telecommunications, energy, banking and finance, transportation, water systems and emergency services, both governmental and private. Many of the nation's critical infrastructures have historically been physically and logically separate systems that had little interdependence. As a result of advances in information technology and the necessity of improved efficiency, however, these infrastructures have become increasingly automated and interlinked. These same advances have created new vulnerabilities to equipment failure, human error, weather and other natural causes, and physical and cyber attacks. Addressing these vulnerabilities will necessarily require flexible, evolutionary approaches that span both the public and private sectors, and protect both domestic and international security. Because of our military strength, future enemies, whether nations, groups or individuals, may seek to harm us in non-...
Words: 468 - Pages: 2
...Study 2 Submission Asa J Opie Sec 310 Professor Nerove Strayer 7-20-2014 Week 3 Case Study 2 Submission A critical infrastructure is defined as any facility, system, or function which provides the foundation for national security, governance, economic vitality, reputation, and way of life. (http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/NIPP_InfoSharing.pdf)In short, critical infrastructure is by definition essential for the survival of the nation. The USA PATRIOT Act specifically defines critical infrastructure as "systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, (Jena Baker McNeill and Richard Weitz, 2010) so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters." FEMA defines critical infrastructure as "personnel, physical assets, and communication (cyber) systems that must be intact and operational 24x7x365 in order to ensure survivability, continuity of operations, and mission success, or in other words, the essential people, equipment, and systems needed to deter or mitigate the catastrophic results of disasters." (http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/NIPP_InfoSharing.pdf) The DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Reports specify the following sectors as part of critical infrastructure: Energy, Chemicals, Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste, Defense Industrial Base, Dams; Banking and Finance, Transportation...
Words: 1253 - Pages: 6
...importance of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and the mythology behind this since the attacks of 9/11, as well as a brief history of Critical Infrastructure Protection pass to the present to include attacks from the cyber arena. These attacks are prone to come indirect or direct which will and could affect our need and use for resources for life as we know it based on living naturally on a daily bases, these threats maybe man made or by natural disaster. Problem statement Prior to the attacks of 9/11 there was no main concern with the protection of Critical Infrastructure within the United States from any avenue. As we moved on into the 21 century the threat has evolved from more than just protecting water source, and power plants. With the information age this issue has shown another form of crippling the United States economy with just the push of a button. How we to protect these infrastructures from threats that may not be seen or those from natural disasters is a question for now and the future. Purpose statement I have chosen this particular subject due to the nature of its importance to national security, economy, as well as the everyday needs of Americans to survive. The awareness for the protection of our critical infrastructure is a necessity for the present and future of America’s well fair. Research questions Q1. When did the United States began showing concern for critical infrastructure and why? Q2. Why is the protection of critical infrastructure...
Words: 786 - Pages: 4
...Determinants of Critical Success Factors of Quality Management in Higher Education Institutions in Morocco Using DELPHI method by: Youssef Loutfi Supervised by: Dr. Abderrahman Hassi Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Business Administration Al Akhawayn University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Master of Business Administration Al Akhawayn University Summer 2014 iii Dedication In conducting this process, I would like mention people to whom this work is dedicated. To my parents, Habiba Hamdi and Abdessamd Loutfi, who instilled in me very young the thirst for knowledge and determination. Your values, your humility and generosity have always guided me and represent what I most admire in a human being. Here I take a special place to celebrate the sacrifices you have made to educate us and to enable us to follow our dreams. Thank you dear parents for this unique feeling of success and excellence, thank you to support me when I doubted especially you believed in this dream despite all the sacrifices it required. Thank you to believe in this project, our project. To my sister and brother, Ijlal and Ahmad Amine. Thank you for your patience and your great sense of humor. To Sofia, my treasure. My apologies for any breach of my duties. You have come to accept my frequent absences and my moods. Thank you Sofia. To Mr. Hassi Abderahman, you felt my ambition, you have believed in me and you opened the doors of knowledge. To...
Words: 13899 - Pages: 56
...The summary determines Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) is an important Cyber Security initiative that requires careful planning and coordination in protecting our infrastructure: 1. What is the Department of Homeland Security’s Mission, Operations, and Responsibilities? 2. What is the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) initiatives are; what are protected, and the methods used to protect our assets? 3. What are the vulnerabilities IS professionals need to be concerned with when protecting the U.S.’s critical infrastructure? 4. Evaluate the effectiveness of IS professionals in regard to protecting the U.S.’s critical infrastructure. 5. Three methods to improve the protection of our critical infrastructure DHS’s Mission The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began operations in 2003 it assigned the department the following critical infrastructure protection responsibilities it’s goals and objectives are to prevent, to protect, to respond, and to recover, as well as to build in security, to ensure resilience, and to facilitate customs and exchange. DHS core mission consist of five homeland security missions “Prevent terrorism and enhancing security; Secure and manage our borders; Enforce and administer our immigration laws; Safeguard and secure cyberspace; Ensure resilience to disasters” (DHS.gov) Homeland security is a widely distributed and diverse refers to the collective efforts and shared responsibilities...
Words: 1936 - Pages: 8
...competitiveness in the vast web-based business environment. Considering this, important factors such as copyright infringement, regulatory compliance, and policy and procedure guidelines must be considered in order to ensure safe business practices while endorsing and protecting a company’s brand, reputation, and intellectual property. This paper serves to identify the primary challenges posed by e-commerce landscapes, while profiling the characteristics of the four infrastructures most commonly found in web-based business models. Furthermore, this paper also discusses the ways that managers can optimize their business strategies to gain competitive advantage by employing the opportunities provided by the Internet market space. Overview of e-Commerce Business Models Today’s networked economy presents a variety of business challenges that are unique to e-commerce. Therefore, it becomes necessary for managers to become intimately familiar both with the opportunities and risks associated with web-based business, understanding how the networked economy helps to expand into new markets, grow consumer mindshare, and increase revenues to maximize shareholder value. An examination of traditional e-commerce business models helps to identify the...
Words: 1403 - Pages: 6
...BCP INTERNAL ASSIGNMENT Anirudh 1. Asset – People, property, and information. People may include employees and customers along with other invited persons such as contractors or guests. Property assets consist of both tangible and intangible items that can be assigned a value. Intangible assets include reputation and proprietary information. Information may include databases, software code, critical company records, and many other intangible items. An asset is what we’re trying to protect. Threat – Anything that can exploit a vulnerability, intentionally or accidentally, and obtain, damage, or destroy an asset. A threat is what we’re trying to protect against. Vulnerability – Weaknesses or gaps in a security program that can be exploited by threats to gain unauthorized access to an asset. A vulnerability is a weakness or gap in our protection efforts. Risk – The potential for loss, damage or destruction of an asset as a result of a threat exploiting a vulnerability. Risk is the intersection of assets, threats, and vulnerabilities. A + T + V = R That is, Asset + Threat + Vulnerability = Risk. Risk is a function of threats exploiting vulnerabilities to obtain, damage or destroy assets. Thus, threats (actual, conceptual, or inherent) may exist, but if there are no vulnerabilities then there is little/no risk. Similarly, you can have a vulnerability, but if you have no threat, then you have little/no risk. Impact is the total profit/loss which is obtained through...
Words: 882 - Pages: 4
...©iStockphoto/Ljupco 36 June 2015 | practicallaw.com © 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework Data breaches in organizations have rapidly increased in recent years. In 2014, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued a voluntary framework that is fast becoming the de facto standard for organizations to assess their cybersecurity programs. RICHARD RAYSMAN JOHN ROGERS PARTNER HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON INC. Richard’s practice concentrates on computer law, outsourcing, complex technology transactions and intellectual property. He has significant experience in structuring technology transactions and has represented clients in billions of dollars of outsourcing transactions in addition to litigating reported cases. Richard is a guest contributor to The Wall Street Journal on technology issues, and Chambers has selected him as a leading technology attorney. Prior to practicing law, Richard was a systems engineer for IBM Corporation. © 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. John has extensive information security experience in a variety of industries including financial services, retail, healthcare, higher education, insurance, non-profit and technology services. He focuses on improving client cybersecurity programs, assessing these programs against industry standards, designing secure solutions and performing cost/benefit analyses. ...
Words: 4438 - Pages: 18
...CASE STUDY FROM INTERNATIONAL TO GLOBAL: HOW KOMATSU USED STRATEGY TO TRANSFORM ITS COMMUNICATIONS “Verizon demonstrated a strong understanding of our business, and was able to offer strategic advice that will make a real difference as we work to achieve our overall business goals. The team offers the combination of industry experience, technical expertise and worldwide presence we were looking for, and we are confident the company is the right partner for our evolving communications needs.” Dirk Fieremans European Infrastructure Manager, Komatsu Let’s say you’ve been maintaining a workout routine for a while. One day you reach the end of your workout session and realise that you haven’t achieved your desired results. Or maybe you’ve hit a plateau. You have a vision of how you should look and feel by now, but you’re just not there. Something needs to change. You realise that a new strategy is in order, one that will help you obtain maximum results. Maybe you may need to hire a personal trainer to ramp up your workouts to reach optimal results in a reasonable period of time. A CHANGE IN STRATEGY IMPROVES COMMUNICATION Similar to your workout session, Komatsu revamped its communications strategy in order to become a leading player in the global construction and mining machinery industry. Long established as a paragon of Japanese heavy manufacturing, and operating 164 subsidiary organisations and 42 associated companies across more than 15 countries, Komatsu recognised that...
Words: 968 - Pages: 4
...security and cyber defense 2.3.2 Cyber intelligence and cyber defense 2.4 Priorities for action 2.5 Partnership and collaborative efforts 3.0 Enabling processes 3.1 Security threat and vulnerability management 3.2 Security threat early warning and response 3.3 Security best practices - compliance and assurance 3.4 Security crisis management plan for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism 3.5 Security legal framework and law enforcement 3.6 Security information sharing and cooperation 4.0 Enabling technologies – Deployment and R&D 4.1 Deployment of technical measures 4.2 Security research and development 5.0 Enabling people 5.1 Security education and awareness 5.2 Security skills training and certification 5.3 Security training infrastructure 6.0 Responsible actions by user...
Words: 7888 - Pages: 32
...shown in figure 1; After smart grid . Its a developing network of communications, controls, computers and automation, and new technology and tools working together to make the grid more efficient, more reliable, more secure, and more greener. The smart grid enables newer technologies to be integrated such as wind and solar energy production and plug-in vehicle charging. With our participation as informed consumers, the smart grid will replace the old infrastructure of today's grid. And utilities can better communicate with us to help manage our electricity needs. Grid Situational awareness Situational awareness in the context of power grid operation is the understanding the current environment and being able to accurately anticipate future problems to enable effective actions. To be able to achieve this sensors will be used. Smart Grid technologies offer a new solution to the problem of monitoring and controlling the grid's transmission system. Control and situational awareness are two very important aspects within critical control systems,...
Words: 846 - Pages: 4
...4 Data-driven risk 5 Event-driven risk 5 Risk reach and range: understanding risk and its impacts 6 elating value to risk: quantifying R impact 7 Resilience frameworks: analyzing current risk environments 8 Resilience strategy: designing a blueprint for risk mitigation 9 Achieve optimum business resilience with IBM 11 Look to a market leader in business resilience 11 For more information 11 About IBM solutions for enabling IT governance and risk management Overview: Why traditional risk mitigation plans fail A successful governance and risk mitigation strategy must operate at multiple levels with broad coverage. Risk mitigation plans at many organizations fall short simply because they are not comprehensive and fail to take into account the reach and range of all the risks that they actually face. Often this occurs when organizations only focus on specific areas of risk categories, only plan for certain types of risk or don’t understand all the different areas in their organization that particular risks will impact. For example, in the area of disaster recovery, most plans fail to account for the following areas of concern: • Human issues — Plans are often inadequate for ensuring communication with, support for and mobilization of employees, decision makers, suppliers and customers, as well as providing the means to protect families. • Infrastructure issues — How will the...
Words: 2961 - Pages: 12
...Public Key Infrastructure David Croughwell Prof. George Danilovics Networking Security Fundamentals (CIS333) 17 February 2013 Public Key Infrastructure In discussing the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) we need to discuss the differences between asymmetric and symmetric keys. These two keys differ in how they are distributed to the various parties that would like to transfer information. Symmetric can be completed by hand delivery, transmitting the key encrypted with a public key, or through a secure connection. This symmetric key or “private key” is used by both parties for encryption and decryption, this method once the key is obtained is the faster of the two and the most secure. Private keys can also be incorporated with hardware devices which will also increase the speed in which the encryption/decryption takes place. Asymmetric keys or “public keys” are a combination of private keys and public keys, since in circumstances the individual receiving the file would have no other ways of receiving the private key securely. This requires a key that is generated so that it can be linked with the private key, being linked like this allows you to post the public key to certificate authorities who will verify that the two keys come from the individual that you expected. The means of identifying who you are can be handled by a third-party corporation. This is completed by utilizing a digital signature which is the equivalent of a handwritten signature. This tells the...
Words: 915 - Pages: 4
...Provision must be made to add users, applications, additional sites, and external network connections" (TutorialsWeb). It is important to have a system or methodology to follow to ensure you account for the necessary and critical aspects of the design process that will provide the best possible network solution for your company. The first step is considering the needs of the business. This is accomplished by understanding what the company does, how they currently function and operate to generate revenue, as well as having a good understanding of the company's business model. Once you have a good understanding of the company's business requirements, you can then determine specific design requirements. The second step then is defining the technical requirements of the network based on the information gathered from assessing the needs of the business. In this step of the planning process, technical considerations such as performance requirements, availability, scalability, standards compatibility, and rapid deployment are evaluated (Hummel). Only when these first two steps are followed in this order will you succeed in designing a network that best suits the customer and the specific needs of their business. The third step is assessing the current network infrastructure. Information is collected and then reviewed for trends, problems and issues that are negatively affecting the present network. "This information is then utilized for making effective strategy recommendations and...
Words: 669 - Pages: 3
