The purpose of this article is to investigate the current state of critical infrastructure in the United States based on data from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Using the information from the ASCE website, this article evaluates how the state of our critical infrastructure impacts our national security. Furthermore, what can we as a country do about this problem and how we compare to the rest of the world will be analyzed. Finally, this article will examine how our critical infrastructure is tied to cyber systems networks and security.
“Critical infrastructure is the backbone of our nation’s economy, security, and health” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2013) and any “[i]mpact on and others will feel it” (Macaulay, 2008, p.1). In other words, our lives rely on the dependability of critical infrastructure, and due to how interlinked our infrastructure is, the failure of one may affect them all. The security of our critical infrastructure is paramount. When discussed in the field of homeland security and emergency management, protecting our critical infrastructure is tied to a disaster, whether manmade (terrorism) or natural. Based on the data from the American Society of Civil Engineers, there may be a different “manmade” impact, otherwise known as neglect. The I-35 bridge collapse in Minnesota was an example of this neglect. As a result of deterioration, degradation, and neglect the bridge became a “crumbling infrastructure” and the collapse was the “cataclysmic result of its failure” (Martin, 2008, p. 41).
In 2009, the critical infrastructure in the United States was graded and received 11 D’s and 4 C’s and these practically failing grades illustrate that the systems we rely on for everyday activities are becoming inadequate or even dangerous (American Society of Civil Engineers, 2009). As previously mentioned, our critical infrastructure is interconnected and an impact from one sector can severely impact another sector or all sectors. This would cripple the country and possibly others. This was evident on September 11th when a man-made disaster, terrorism, impacted not only the Transportation Sector but many others. The impact also illustrated how our critical infrastructure is tied to and reliant upon cyber systems networks and security.
Due to the incident of September 11, 2001, air traffic was halted over the United States for weeks and severely impacted the Communication Sector, Commercial Facilities Sector, and the Food and Agriculture Sector. These impacts than had a direct effect on Critical Manufacturing, Emergency Services, Energy, Financial Services, and Government Facilities sectors. One event crippled the nation directly affecting at least nine of sixteen sectors of critical infrastructure. The others most likely had some negative impact from the events of September 11th. Our national security is reliant on the protection of the critical infrastructure.
In our current economic and political climate, blame is what is sought after, but this detracts from the more important mission; fixing the problem. The neglect our infrastructure has received is an example of what Martin (2008) recognized “[u]nderlying the increase in disaster vulnerability is an interrelated global process that includes population growth, rapid urbanization, international financial pressures, land degradation, global environmental change, and war” (p. 41). What is needed is money, but again that is not popular in the current economic and political climate.
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of mitigate is “to make more bearable or less severe.” This is the action that must be taken to improve our neglected and decaying critical infrastructure. Spending money upfront on floodplain management has been shown to save the country more than $1 billion in damages every year (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2012). Imagine the savings from mitigating and protecting our other critical infrastructure. Europe uses 5% of its GDP towards infrastructure; China, 9%; but the United States spends just 2.4% (ASCE, 2009). Increasing our spending on these activities will save us more money in the long run. A study by the Multihazard Mitigation Council showed that for every dollar we put towards the mitigation of hazards save on average $4. So, the question is whether to spend millions now or billions later.
Attention for protecting our critical infrastructure is focused outward, towards an attack or natural disaster. Unfortunately, the problem may come from within. Our own neglect of upkeep and upgrading of systems, technology, and structure. As already illustrated, an event that impacts one sector of critical infrastructure does not stay only with that sector, many others or all are impacted. These impacts can bring our economy and society to a halt, thus negatively impacting our national security. As a society, we need to be ready to invest now in our critical infrastructure or be ready to spend significantly more in the future.
References
American Society of Civil Engineers. (2009). 2009 Report card for America’s infrastructure. American Society of Civil Engineers. Retrieved from http://www.asce.org/Infrastructure/Report-Card/2009-Report-Card-for-America-s-Infrastructure/
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2012). Mitigation’s value to society. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1621-20490-9581/mitigationvaluetosociety_2012.pdf
Macaulay, T. (2008). Critical infrastructure: Understanding its component parts, vulnerability, operating risks and interdependencies. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Martin, D. (2008). Bridging emergency management: A professional assessment of the Minneapolis bridge collapse and other infrastructure failures. Journal of Emergency Management, 5(6), 41–44.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2013, November 1). What is critical infrastructure? Retrieved October 24, 2014, from http://www.dhs.gov/what-critical-infrastructure