ABSTRACT
Critical infrastructures (CIs) are an integral part of the normal functioning of any modern society. Among other things, CIs provide power, transportation, emergency medical services, food, water, and telecommunication. CIs have become more interdependent over the years, thus exacerbating vulnerabilities to breakdowns as a result of both natural and man-made disasters. In light of more technological breakthroughs that would inevitably lead to increased interdependences among CI sectors, there is an urgent need to protect CIs against potential terrorist attacks, technological accidents, and natural disasters. However, there are some challenges that must first be overcome. These challenges include increased vulnerabilities of CIs, finding the right balance between sharing and protecting sensitive CI information, how to mitigate terrorism threats against CIs, inadequate resources to protect CIs, and the need to educate the public about CIs. With these challenges in mind, we highlight three main issues for those in charge of critical infrastructure protection (CIP): the issue of increasing public–private partnerships, the issue of making CIs more resilient to future accidents and disasters, and the issue of investment in CIP.
