Reflection paper

            Over the past years there have been fewer threats as compared to the current world that we are living in. thus the infrastructure that was there earlier on was basically defined in relation to the adequacy of the state’s public works. Since the 1990’s there has been an escalating growth in threat of the international terrorism (Moteff & Parfomak 2004). As a result there has been strategies such as the formulation of policies where the policy makers has been necessitated by the situation 0f these threats to reconsider the definition of the infrastructure in terms of the homeland security.             Critical infrastructure therefore ensures that all the systems as well as the assets either physical or virtual that are so vital to the security of the United States nation are protected. Any destruction, manipulation or incapacity of these systems and assets may result to a devastating impact on the security of the nation, the national economy, public health as well as safety or the combination of all of them. Therefore for these critical infrastructures to be implemented, a total characterization of the site must be first completed then a security risk assessment is undertaken. Thus the foundation of the risk assessment is offered by the completion of the facility characterization. Homeland security therefore ha a complex task of first ensuring that they carry out the characterization of the area where they later carry out the assessment of all the risks that may occur before implementing any of the policies that has been established. In doing this they are able to have the right resources and infrastructures, the right personnel who are experts in the various fields and in using certain facilities and they are also able to come up with priorities through their critical decision-making process.

            According to the Orange team, it is evident that while determining the critical assets it is important to group them into several groups so as to enhance easier protection and assessment of the risk associated with these categories of assets. Thus there may be employees’ assets who include all the people who might in the building, the power supply assets, cyber infrastructure as well as the HVAC mechanisms. For a facility to be successfully characterized, critical assets undesired events list, protection goals and the description of the facility are key elements in ensuring that risk is mitigated. The group has adversely integrated these key elements in trying to demonstrate how facility characterization is paramount in ensuring that safety is accorded to the citizens and to the environment around. Terrorism attacks are major threats in US and most of the areas are targeted thus causing the lives of the people and that of the environment be it the natural environment or the built environment to be at risk. However, with the right facility characterization followed by the appropriate security risk assessment, security agencies such as the homeland security are able to be successful in their mission and vision of ensuring that they offer security to the nation. Hence in situations such as terrorists attack, they are able to make goals and to make hard decisions based on the facility characterization and safety risk assessment report hence prioritizing on the critical assets that require protection the most with the right identification of the undesired events that may occur and planning for these events in advance.

            Critical infrastructure therefore is accorded all the safety measures following their fundamental role and services that they offer to the nation. They are thus complex systems that require critical characterization and assessment safety risk strategies. This is because, any effect on them by the terrorists it may go beyond the targeted asset and the reversibility after the immediate change is a long-term occurrence. Therefore for all the sectors to be fully protected, the characterization of the anticipated area to be affected has to undergo through a characterization with the collaboration of the risk assessment so as to fully protect al, the critical assets that are potential in facing these risks of destruction (Bringer et al 2007). In doing this manipulation or destruction of one asset is eliminated as all the vulnerable assets such as those systems that contain critical information or those that hold dangerous equipments or medications are safely assessed and protected in totality. Different departments have got different critical assets and thus generalization of critical assets is not wise. Hence, for the homeland security to clearly determine the critical infrastructure in each department it requires that they first carry out a thorough assessment of the department, its environment, the people, the systems and the goals of security in this department. Then they later examine the extent of the risk and the undesired event that may be attributed by this risk and hence they are able to secure the department as they have the knowledge o the critical infrastructure of each and every department in the entire nation. Therefore, the assets, services as well as systems within each and every critical infrastructure sector are not equally essential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Moteff J & Parfomak P. (2004). Critical Infrastructure and Key Assets:

            Definition and Identification. Congressional Research Service.

Bringer, B. E., Matalucci, R. V., & O'Connor, S. L. (2007). Security risk assessment and management: a professional practice guide for protecting buildings and infrastructures. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.