Book Description
Reporting on the significant strides made in securing and protecting our nation's infrastructures, this timely and accessible resource examines emergency responsiveness and other issues vital to national homeland security. Critical Infrastructure: Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness details the important measures that have been taken over the past few years to safeguard the industries, national landmarks, and national assets considered vital to the continued economic operation and success of any country and its people. After introducing the topic, this comprehensive book covers concerns such as data classification and categorization, border security and immigration, cyberterrorism, hazardous materials, national response plans, national incident management systems, and incident command systems. It presents newly developed department and agency level protocols, as well as newly formulated procedures and guidelines. It also explains security vulnerability assessments, information sharing and analysis centers, control systems, and supervisory control and data acquisition. Comprehensive and authoritative, Critical Infrastructure: Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is a must-have resource for professionals within both the private and public sectors and for students studying topics relating to critical infrastructure, emergency management, crisis response, and disaster recovery.
Customer Reviews:
Critical Infrastructure is Awesome!.......2007-04-06
I read this book, and honestly, it is ahead of it's time. It covers a ton of ever changing governmental sources. His second book on transportation security is even better than the first book in terms of ideas on securing supply chains. I recommend this book to anyone in the infrastructure and/or security business.
Average customer rating:
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Critical Infrastructure Protection in Homeland Security: Defending a Networked Nation
Ted G. Lewis
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
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ASIN: 0471786284 |
Book Description
A scientific approach to the new field of critical infrastructure protection
This book offers a unique scientific approach to the new field of critical infrastructure protection: it uses network theory, optimization theory, and simulation software to analyze and understand how infrastructure sectors evolve, where they are vulnerable, and how they can best be protected. The author demonstrates that infrastructure sectors as diverse as water, power, energy, telecommunications, and the Internet have remarkably similar structures. This observation leads to a rigorous approach to vulnerability analysis in all of these sectors. The analyst can then decide the best way to allocate limited funds to minimize risk, regardless of industry sector.
The key question addressed in this timely book is: What should be protected and how? The author proposes that the answer lies in allocating a nation's scarce resources to the most critical components of each infra-structure--the so-called critical nodes. Using network theory as a foundation, readers learn how to identifya small handful of critical nodes and then allocate resources to reduce or eliminate risk across the entire sector.
A comprehensive set of electronic media is provided on a CD-ROM in the back of the book that supports in-class and self-tutored instruction. Students can copy these professionally produced audio-video lectures onto a PC (Microsoft Windows(r) and Apple Macintosh(r) compatible) for repeated viewing at their own pace. Another unique feature of the book is the open-source software for demonstrating concepts and streamlining the math needed for vulnerability analysis. Updates, as well as a discussion forum, are available from www.CHDS.us.
This book is essential for all corporate, government agency, and military professionals tasked with assessingvulnerability and developing and implementing protection systems. In addition, the book is recommended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students studying national security, computing, and other disciplines where infrastructure security is an issue.
Download Description
A scientific approach to the new field of critical infrastructure protection This book offers a unique scientific approach to the new field of critical infrastructure protection: it uses network theory, optimization theory, and simulation software to analyze and understand how infrastructure sectors evolve, where they are vulnerable, and how they can best be protected. The author demonstrates that infrastructure sectors as diverse as water, power, energy, telecommunications, and the Internet have remarkably similar structures. This observation leads to a rigorous approach to vulnerability analysis in all of these sectors. The analyst can then decide the best way to allocate limited funds to minimize risk, regardless of industry sector. The key question addressed in this timely book is: What should be protected and how? The author proposes that the answer lies in allocating a nation's scarce resources to the most critical components of each infra-structure-the so-called critical nodes. Using network theory as a foundation, readers learn how to identifya small handful of critical nodes and then allocate resources to reduce or eliminate risk across the entire sector. This book is essential for all corporate, government agency, and military professionals tasked with assessingvulnerability and developing and implementing protection systems. In addition, the book is recommended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students studying national security, computing, and other disciplines where infrastructure security is an issue.
Customer Reviews:
CIP in Homeland Security.......2006-11-05
I wish there was a score lower than 1 star to give.
First of all, let me say that there is valuable information in this book, if you are willing to sift the chaff for wheat.
However comma this book (as is admitted in the forward) was only written so the author could keep his job. And it shows.
The author contradicts himself, is overly complex when explaining things (why explain it to the reader when you can use overly difficult math instead?), and doesn't even provide answers to the questions posed in the end of chapter sections. When I say doesn't provide them, he wouldn't even give them to his publisher, I checked.
So, if you have the time to sift and decipher, this is the book for you, If not then I would recommend that you keep searching elsewhere for CIP information, my friend.
Book Description
This text brings together differing geographic perspectives in modeling and analysis in order to highlight infrastructure weaknesses or plan for their protection. International scholars, from a variety of disciplines – geography, regional science, planning, public policy, operations research, mathematics, computer science, engineering and transportation - offer varying perspectives on this subject. This text is an important contribution offering synthesis and new methodological approaches. The purpose of this volume is to explore the potential consequences of critical infrastructure failure, stemming from both man-made (e.g., terrorist attacks) and natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.). The approaches employed are wide-ranging, including geographic, economic and social perspectives on critical infrastructure issues.
Book Description
In the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, executives and policymakers are motivated than ever to reduce the vulnerability of social and economic systems to disasters. Most prior work on “critical infrastructure protection” has focused on the responsibilities and actions of government rather than on those of the private sector firms that provide most vital services. Seeds of Disaster, Roots of Response is the first systematic attempt to understand how private decisions and operations affect public vulnerability. It describes effective and sustainable approaches - both business strategies and public policies - to ensure provision of critical services in the event of disaster. The authors are business leaders from multiple industries and experts in fields as diverse as risk analysis, economics, engineering, organization theory and public policy. The book shows the necessity of deeply rooted collaboration between private and public institutions, and the accountability and leadership required to go from words to action.
Customer Reviews:
Political and corporate history of the 688-class submarines.......2005-12-29
This book chronicles the political and corporate history of the 688 class nuclear attack submarine. There is much insight into the methods and manner of Admiral Rickover and also a lot of material on the corporate goings-on at Electric Boat during the construction of these boats. At the same time the Trident program was starting so it was a hectic era of sub construction in the USA.
The small amount of operational history is very interesting, such as the ruse which allowed the US Navy to estimate the top speed of mid-1960s Russian nuclear subs. Really the whole book is well written but a complaint at Sub-Log was the limited amount of design, technical and operational information. Much of the book is taken up with following the business and political leaders involved in these huge defense projects.
Very well done, insightful and recommended for anyone considering a career in management at a large defense contractor. An important book in how it documents one slice of American Cold War defense procurement.
Category: corporate and political narrative and intrigue
Heroes: ?? Electric Boat rank and file?
Boats: 688 class
Rating: 4 conference rooms (out of a total of five)
Titanic egos battle over defense policy for a generation.......2005-12-20
It was a monumental showdown: Takis Veliotis, the ruthless, ambitious manager brought in to save the Electrtic Boat division of General Dynamics, the prime supplier of submarines to the navy, and Admiral Hyman Rickover, the brilliant, demanding perfectionist who helped create those submarines. Though they started as allies with the goal of excellence, they soon became bitter enemies. Each made the destruction of the other his goal. In the interim their actions (or lack thereof) helped shape defense policy at sea for a generation, through the technically advanced but flawed Los Angeles class of attack submarines. This book reads less like the examination of policy and politics that it is, and more like a thriller, which it becomes. Impossible to put down -- Tyler nails the facts and the personalities.
Only three-stars because story ends too quickly.......2002-03-25
This is a comprehensive account of the contentious genesis of the Los Angeles Class attack sub, a warship normally described as one of the most advanced in the world, but under suspicion here. Though this story will most likely appeal to those familiar with the terminology and technology of military submarines, it also has much to offer for those studying the military acquisitions process.
The Los Angeles class attack sub was borne of attempts to combat two implacable enemies - the Soviet Navy and America's own Hyman Rickover, the so-called father of the nuclear navy. Facing the combined soviet threats of submarine launched anti-ship missiles (previous Russian subs could only fire their missiles only after an elaborate process while on the surface where they were visible and vulnerable) and faster submarines equipped with more powerful reactors, American planners now find themselves desperate to reclaim an edge on speed. (Though setting the benchmark with the Skipjack class, progressive gains in the size and weight of latter subs using the same powerplant eroded this advantage). The switch to a newer reactor (actually one redesigned after use on the USS Long Beach, one of the world's first nuclear-powered surface ships) wasn't enough, and submarine vets had no choice but to make compromises, like reducing hull thickness and conseuqently reducing maximum safe operating depth. Conflict with the headstrong Admiral Rickover occurs when the winning design for the new sub is chosen by a firm other than General Dynamics, the established industry leader. Also complicating things is Takis Veliotis, a wily genius who is the only man who can stand up to greedy corporate reps eager to cut any corner and Rickover himself. Veliotis, unfortunately, has some of his own secrets to hide, resulting in his flight to Greece to avoid charges stemming from millions of dollars in kickbacks. What nearly dooms the program are the extensive compromises made to the construction schedules - resulting in ships being launched half-finished only to be quietly returned to the factory for completion. Millions of dollars in overruns are quietly overlooked, with the hope that a government bailout will convert these losses into profits. When that prospect begins to look unlikely, the corporate heads of GD begin turning on each other, while unskilled and unreliable labor, low morale and impossible construction schedules mix to spell the likely doom of the US submarine force.
This book tackled an unlikely subject - the LA Class is the backbone of America's submarine navy, not something you've heard described as essentially "Unsafe at any depth". However, the book is marred for two reasons - the author spends much more time concentrating on each specific transaction or exchange between characters (like Veliotis and either the head of GD or Rickover) without connecting these exchanges into a cohesive picture of a collapsing defense program. A more glaring flaw is the book being incomplete. "When it was over, there were just the submarines" but the submarines managed to operate at much higher safety standards than the Russian boats they confronted - the author never connecting these boats to the seeming time-bombs produced by GD. What had happened? Who can take credit for the success of the LA Class - or is even that perceived success an illusion? Even the supreme irony of speedy submarines is never addressed adequately, though the information was probably unavailable. Though developments in sub-launched missiles and their submarines themselves did substantiate the need for faster US subs, the threat of high-speed Russian subs was a cold war mirage. The Russians never gave much production priority to their high-powered reactors. Those installed in experimental versions of the November and Papa classes, and regularly in the Alfa class proved more trouble prone than realized. Though more compact than comparable western designs, these reactors were at least as loud, and, using molten metal as a coolant, had to be operated around the clock, even while in port, lest the coolant be allowed to "freeze" into solid metal and ruin the piping. Either of these two ommissions (the post-construction history of the LA class and the real threat posed by the Russians) is fatal to the subject. Nevertheless, I found it important reading. I'm hoping the author will revisit the subject again using the information he had no access to at first.
Excellent.......2001-11-23
One of the best books on the 688 program and how it influenced the 726-class. The best part is the back of the book with transcripts of telephone conversations between Takis Veliotis (GM for GD/EB) and Rickover. Also a good summary of the engineering and operations analysis that led to the 688 design. Portions on the "holy grail" of speed, depth and stealth are great, particularly on how/why the hull wound up getting shaved to meet speed, but sacrificing depth. Overall, a great book, as good or better than Dalguish and Schwickert's (sp?) book, Trident.
A definitive look at the history of the 688 program/origins.......2000-07-20
Probrably the definitve book on the origin of the 688 submarine program and the corruption involved in the overspending by General Dynamics(Electric Boat). Some really good insights on Adm. Rickover not seen in other books. Very technically accurate. I believe at the time this book was written the government tried to ban the book. The first third of the book about the advent of Soviet fast subs and and the history of modern submarine design is a must read for anyone interested in submarine history. Cronicles some of the classic story's such as the USS Philidelphia being launched for the Congressmen and then pulled back into shipyard for another year to finish since it was so far behind schedule.
Book Description
Information technology (IT) presents many challenges to managers. Constant change, e-business, massive amounts of information, global operations, and building new alliances and capabilities are just some the transformations being driven by the use of IT in business today. No modern manager can afford to ignore IT or leave it to the professionals. This book tackles the tough issues of managing in an environment where IT is everywhere.
Based on the real life experiences of senior IT managers in leading- edge businesses and incorporating thorough research, Making IT Happen separates fact from fad, shows where managers can make a real difference, and provides useful and practical advice for coping in the fast-paced world of IT.
"This is the first real handbook of IT management. It's well-grounded, reliable in its recommendations, sensible, comprehensive and useful. Those are all compliments; they are what we need in the post dot.com era and after all the transformation-is-now-and-real-easy hype of IT. This is a book about putting IT to work." Peter Keen, Chairman of Keen Innovations and Professor at Delft University
"This book provides a template - targeted at the executive level - of the technology and organizational issues that need to be dealt with and well-grounded means (decision structures and decision processes) for handling these issues. A particular, and very unique, strength of the book is the manner in which McKeen and Smith skilfully blend and leverage the best thinking of leading scholars and successful IT executives. As a consequence, the book should prove valuable both for IT executives confronting today's IT management challenges and for scholars seeking to better understand this dynamic and elusive context." Robert Zmud, Michael F. Price Chair of MIS, University of Oklahoma, and Research Director, Advanced Practices Council of SIM, International
"Jim McKeen and Heather Smith have captured the essence of the most challenging pursuit of modern civilization - designing and building advanced information systems. Some believe that we are entering a new era of pervasive computing blurred with advanced networks, which delivers unprecedented and untold opportunities and capability. This book addresses the challenges with outstanding insight and wisdom. It is a must read for every person who is involved in information systems and technology - from CIOs right through to students thinking of entering this profession." Eugene Roman, Chief Information & Technology Officer, Bell Canada
Customer Reviews:
Well informed and covered wide range of IT topics in detail.......2007-09-21
The book helped with my course study very well and the modules are segmented in an excellent manner for the reader to get a grip on past present and future direction of IT.
Book Description
During the last two decades, the infrastructure of the U.S. economy has undergone a fundamental set of changes. It has steadily increased its reliance on its service sector and high-technology economy. The U.S. has come to depend on computers, electronic data storage and transfers, and highly integrated communications networks. The result is the rapid development of a new form of critical infrastructure--and one that is exceedingly vulnerable to a new family of threats, loosely grouped together as information warfare. This detailed volume examines these threats and the evolving U.S. policy response. After examining the dangers posed by information warfare and efforts at threat assessment, Cordesman considers the growing policy response on the part of various federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector. The changing nature of the threats is leading these actors to reassess the role they must play in critical infrastructure protection. Government at all levels, industry, and even friendly and neutral foreign governments are learning that an effective response requires coordination in deterrence, defense, and counterattack.
Average customer rating:
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Critical Infrastructures at Risk : Securing the European Electric Power System (Topics in Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality) (Topics in Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality)
A.V. Gheorghe ,
M. Masera ,
M. Weijnen , and
L.J. De Vries
Manufacturer: Springer
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Critical Infrastructure Protection in Homeland Security: Defending a Networked Nation
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Critical Infrastructure: Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
ASIN: 1402043066 |
Product Description
Europe witnessed in the last years a number of significant power contingencies. Some of them revealed the potentiality of vast impact on the welfare of society and triggered pressing questions on the reliability of electric power systems. Society has incorporated electricity as an inherent component, indispensable for achieving the expected level of quality of life. Therefore, any impingement on the continuity of the electricity service would be able to distress society as a whole, affecting individuals, social and economic activities, other infrastructures and essential government functions. It would be possible to hypothesize that in extreme situations this could even upset national security. This book explores the potential risks and vulnerabilities of the European electricity infrastructure, other infrastructures and our society as whole increasingly depend on. The work was initiated by the need to verify the potential effects of the ongoing market and technical transformation of the infrastructure, which is fundamentally changing its operation and performance. The final aim is to set the basis for an appropriate industrial and political European-wide response to the risk challenges.
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Critical Infrastructures: State of the Art in Research and Application (International Series in Operations Research & Management Science)
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 1402076010 |
Book Description
Infrastructures have become more and more critical to the functioning of society, as economic and social processes to a large extent rely on the services provided by such systems. Failure of these infrastructures, therefore, is one of the most important vulnerabilities of modern society. In addition and simultaneously much change is taking place within and around these infrastructures. This change includes: increasingly rapid technological change, rapid institutional change, increasing system complexity, increasing trans-boundary dependencies, tensions between market concerns addressing (short-term) economic gains, and increasing demands on service quality. These and other changes pose formidable challenges to policy makers, business innovators, system designers, infrastructure operators and scientists alike.
Critical Infrastructures: State of the Art in Research and Application, comprising a selection of reviewed and edited contributions from all over the world, aims to shed light on the various aspects of critical infrastructures. The editors of this book have opted for a broad view on the various criticality aspects on infrastructures itself as well as contributions that discuss the institutional and technical environment of critical infrastructures which are crucial for their proper functioning.
Critical Infrastructures brings to light a number of eye-opening critical issues that have been only marginally touched upon in research and practice. Hence, the book is an indispensable resource for infrastructure policy makers, managers, consultants and researchers alike.
The book is divided into four sections:
*Vulnerability and Risk;
*System Development and Adaptation;
*Institutional Change;
*Capacity Management.
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- A Look at Infastructure Weak Points
- Pointers to Infrastrucure threats and vulnerabilities
|
Networks, Security And Complexity: The Role of Public Policy in Critical Infrastructure Protection
Sean P. Gorman
Manufacturer: Edward Elgar Publishing
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Critical Infrastructure Protection in Homeland Security: Defending a Networked Nation
ASIN: 1843769522 |
Book Description
The end of the 20th century witnessed an information revolution that introduced a host of new economic efficiencies. This economic change was underpinned by rapidly growing networks of infrastructure that have become increasingly complex. In this new era of global security we are now forced to ask whether our private efficiencies have led to public vulnerabilities, and if so, how do we make ourselves secure without hampering the economy. In order to answer these questions, Sean Gorman provides a framework for how vulnerabilities are identified and cost-effectively mitigated, as well as how resiliency and continuity of infrastructures can be increased. Networks, Security and Complexity goes on to address specific concerns such as determining criticality and interdependency, the most effective means of allocating scarce resources for defense, and whether diversity is a viable strategy. The author provides the economic, policy, and physics background to the issues of infrastructure security, along with tools for taking first steps in tackling these security dilemmas. He includes case studies of infrastructure failures and vulnerabilities, an analysis of threats to US infrastructure, and a review of the economics and geography of agglomeration and efficiency. This critical and controversial book will garner much attention and spark an important dialogue. Policymakers, security professionals, infrastructure operators, academics, and readers following homeland security issues will find this volume of great interest.
Customer Reviews:
A Look at Infastructure Weak Points.......2005-11-24
Although it touches on other areas such as electric power distribution, this book is mostly concerned with the fiber optic backbone of the telecommunications industry. It began as a map showing where the fiber goes. Then with 9/11 it became expanded to show where weak points might exist.
To no great surprise, the fiber follows the interstate highways and the railroads. These already have right of ways that cover the distance between the major cities, exactly where the fiber needs to go. Specifically, interstate I-10 running across Texas and the southern part of New Mexico and Arizons, and interstate I-80 from San Francisco across Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska are where the major pipes run. Note that the Union Pacific railroad has track the roughly parallels both I-10 and I-80. In at least one spot (just west of Elko, Nevada) both UP tracks (each of which has fiber along its roadway) go under an Overpass. A bit of explosives here would seriously hamper truck, rail and information traffic across the middle of the country. I presume similar sites exist along I-10.
This is an interesting look at a little appreciated danger spot.
Pointers to Infrastrucure threats and vulnerabilities.......2005-10-04
The good news:
This book serves as a great source to locate additional information. In that respect it is second only to Dan Verton's Black Ice and it covers areas Black Ice does not.
There are some excellent nuggets including, the danger of backhoes to the network infrastructure ( that happened to me three times when I used to help provide networks, but I had forgotten just how pesky those can be), a consideration of the vulnerabilities of the power grid ( can't run computers without power) and a fantastic consideration of issues related to fiber.
The author is a product of the University of Florida's legendary Geography program so as you would imagine, the maps in the book are excellent at conveying information.
The bad news:
The book is really a dissertation, there is no developmental editor and it shows. You have to work past bad writing.
There is an assumption the reader has read all of the same papers the author has. I had read all of the government papers, but only a fraction of the rest so it was very hard to follow the author's thoughts.
Technical errors, a few of them concern me, such as the statement terrorist have never used computers to kill people. The hacked PBX in the Madrid bombing, the cyber cafe's in India; it is true that is just command and control, but it is part of killing people. Also cell phones are actually just wireless computers and they are used as part of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Also, the comment about Cisco routers not able propagate an attack concerns me, after all, they are computers as well and it is possible to exploit their processor through flaws in IOS. However, I might be too picky, this might be semantics and since this is a dissertation, people far more educated have reviewed it.
The bottom line, this is not an easy read, but if you are in the risk analysis business, you should consider investing the time to study this book and read some of the papers it references, you can count on me doing the same!
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