High-level overview of the need for a national framework for protecting critical infrastructure

High-level overview of the need for a national framework for protecting critical infrastructure

Subject: & Countermeasures

Chapter 1 provided a high-level overview of the need for a national framework for protecting critical infrastructure. For some additional reading, take a look at the latest Presidential Order that relates to strengthening that relates to critical infrastructure:

After reading chapter 1 and looking at the link above, you’re ready to participate in the first discussion.

Let’s look at a real-world scenario and how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plays into it. In the scenario, the United States will be hit by a large-scale, coordinated cyber attack organized by China. These attacks debilitate the functioning of government agencies, parts of the critical infrastructure, and commercial ventures. The IT infrastructure of several agencies are paralyzed, the electric grid in most of the country is shut down, telephone traffic is seriously limited and satellite communications are down (limiting the Department of Defense’s [DOD’s] ability to communicate with commands overseas). International commerce and financial institutions are also severely hit. Please explain how DHS should handle this situation.

You must do the following:

1) As indicated above, please explain how DHS should handle the situation described in the preceding paragraph. (Around 500 to 600 words)

2) Select AT LEAST 2 other students’ threads and post substantive comments on those threads. Your comments should extend the conversation started with the thread. (need to submit by anytime between thursday to saturday)

To guide your discussions, please consider the following questions:

What did you learn from your classmate’s posting?

What additional questions do you have after reading the posting?

What clarification do you need regarding the posting?

What differences or similarities do you see between your posting and other classmates’ postings?

Required Resources

Amoroso, E. G. (2012). Cyber attacks: protecting national infrastructure. Elsevier.

Watch the 2 videos below as part of the Lecture. – 

What is a Botnet Attack? 

Affects of Cyber Attacks on critical Infrastructure: