Introduction
There are 16 sectors that, if left unchecked, their failure could result in the incapacitation of the United States’ security systems, economic structures, and healthcare safety measures. They are agricultural, chemical, commercial facility, communications, dams, defense industrial base, emergencies services, energy, financial services, and government facilities. They also include healthcare and public health, IT, critical manufacturing, nuclear reactors materials and waste, transportation systems, and wastewater systems sector (Di Pietro, 2020). All economic and social functions in the country rely on the 16 assets identified above (Atkins & Lawson, 2021). Since clinical infrastructure assets offer such great benefits to a country, they also pose great risks in the occasion that they may fail (Di Pietro, 2020). It has also been observed that a failure in one of the 16 sectors usually affects all the other 15 remaining sectors because, as the economy has advanced, interdependence between different sectors has continued to increase. This necessitates a clear and detailed plan to ensure critical infrastructure protection in every sector. Critical infrastructure is an important element of every government, and understanding the challenges and solutions it faces is important for all relevant stakeholders.
Problems and Solutions
Technological Advancement Challenges
Protecting critical infrastructure assets comes with many challenges because of its instruments’ interconnectedness. First, today’s critical infrastructure instruments are based on assets that rely on internet-based hosts and rely heavily on the internet for their functional ability (Atkins & Lawson, 2021). This motivates cyber attackers to try to breach the systems in the comfort of their homes (Lehto, 2022). Attacking security details using a computer is easier and safer than traditional physical breaches that attackers had to rely on before the advent of IoT came. Since the infrastructure in the IT sector is constantly changing, continuous research on cyber security has to be done, which can be challenging due to the unavailability of resources. The threat of a cyberattack due to having many devices connected to the internet could be solved by ensuring that all devices’ visibility is restricted using VPNs. Users also need to take special care to ensure that all their devices are password protected and that no unauthorized users should be allowed into the system.
Supply Chain Security Challenges
Complex challenges that people tasked with ensuring the protection of critical infrastructure assets involves supply chain processes. Most supply chain managers use third-party providers they believe will help them design faster and more efficient supply chain systems. These providers can sometimes lack integrity and take advantage of the information at their disposal to illegally take advantage of the systems (VanHoy, 2021). Similarly, the security of supply chain systems is often under threat since it is largely interconnected to ensure their flexibility (Oliver II, 2022). Therefore, an attack in one area of the supply chain system could break down the entire system due to this interconnectedness. Supply chain-based challenges are expected to rise, with 84% of people involved in supply chains believing that supply chain-based attacks are increasing (Oliver II, 2022). Challenges in critical infrastructure associated with the supply chain can be solved by ensuring that the organization has trusted internal operators to design and maintain the systems (Di Pietro, 2020; Oliver II, 2022). Secondly, different supply chain components need to have a different security detail to ensure that an attack on one does not lead to the failure of the whole system.
Digital Transformation Challenges
Another threat critical infrastructure assets face is increased vulnerability when transitioning from an old system to a newer one. Many organizations whose operations fall under the critical infrastructure scope rush to make digital transformations (Lehto, 2022). They often ignore involving cyber security experts when doing these transitions, making their systems very susceptible to attacks during and after the shifts. Some managers often fear digital transformational changes due to the belief that they weaken an organization’s infrastructural security. This opinion is often misguided since a number of third-party organizations and experts can guide organizations into a safe digital transformation process (Clark et al., 2018). Since these parties and experts are often expensive, the managers have to be willing to set up a comprehensive financial strategy to ensure a smooth transition.
Conclusion
Admittedly, critical infrastructure is crucial for every government; thus, understanding the challenges and the possible solutions is paramount. As technological advancements have continued, more cyber attacks are motivated to attack the systems. Setting strict punishments for culprits could mitigate this problem. The problem of cyber attacks can also be mitigated by having critical infrastructure assets’ visibility hidden. The supply chain also brings a security problem because of the many integrated systems. Using internal system controllers and different security measures for each system could reduce the risk of the collapse of the whole system. Vulnerabilities are also common during digital transformations when the management does not take adequate precautionary measures when moving from an old to a new system. These could be solved by employing experts who guide the organization in the transition. Since safe transitions are likely costly, organizations that deal with critical infrastructure need to set up separate adequate funds for these procedures.
References
Atkins, S., & Lawson, C. (2021). An improvised patchwork: Success and failure in cybersecurity policy for critical infrastructure. Public Administration Review, 81(5), 847-861. Web.
Clark, S. S., Seager, T. P., & Chester, M. V. (2018). A capabilities approach to the prioritization of critical infrastructure. Environment Systems and Decisions, 38(3), 339–352. Web.
Di Pietro, R., Raponi, S., Caprolu, M., & Cresci, S. (2020). Critical infrastructure. Advances in Information Security, 157–196. Web.
Lehto, M. (2022). Cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure. Computational Methods in Applied Sciences, pp. 3–42. Web.
Oliver II, E. H. (2022). Assessing critical supply chain resilience against critical infrastructure disruptions: A model-based systems engineering perspective [Doctoral dissertation].The George Washington University. Web.
VanHoy, J. (2021). Critical infrastructure analysis. Social Science Research Network. Web.