Critical Infrastructure Archives

Planning Needed – Climate Change Impact on Animals

Johanna Rahkonen and Richard Green August 1, 2018

Animal populations will be uniquely impacted by the increasing, changing, and compounding disasters attributed to the rapidly advancing effects of climate change. Companion animals will face displacement, livestock will suffer from physiological stressors, and wildlife may face localized extinctions. Animals from all sectors may experience increased instances of negative health

Three Ways AI Helps Prepare for Future Attacks

Michael Ellenbogen July 18, 2018

Terrorist attacks and mass shootings have changed the threat landscape. In the old-world paradigm, planes were the target and metallic objects were the key concern. In the new-world paradigm, anything can be a target. Thus, the security response needs to shift from reactive to proactive. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the

The Big Data Bind

Daniel M. Gerstein July 18, 2018

The use of genealogy websites to find the alleged Golden State killer, Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data to develop targeted ads for the 2016 presidential campaign, and the loss of privacy resulting from the sharing of information on social media bring into focus some of the unintended consequences of

Bringing Emergency Preparedness to City Schools

Katelyn James June 20, 2018

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting a near-normal 2018 Atlantic hurricane season: the formation of 10-16 named storms, with 5-9 becoming hurricanes (1-4 of these potentially becoming major hurricanes). For the past 10 years, the New York City (NYC) Emergency Management Department has been educating children in NYC

The Need for Community Public Safety UAS Programs

Charles L. Werner June 20, 2018

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drones) offer great value for public safety, with support and guidance needed at the local, state, and national levels when considering such systems. UAS offer a profound new view and situational awareness of significant incidents, events, and disasters. This article describes the value of UAS and provides

Aiding the Response to Fentanyl With Portable Equipment

Philip Tackett June 13, 2018

Illegal manufacturing of fentanyl continues to rise and, with it, the dangers of clandestine drug laboratories to responders. Dangerous crime scenes like these are not limited to any one location. Responders everywhere need to prepare to encounter them at any point. Portable gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) equipment can help

Counterinsurgency & Emergency Management

Roger Parrino and Terry Hastings June 6, 2018

Counterinsurgency and emergency management are two seemingly unrelated concepts, yet they have a lot in common in terms of the strategies necessary to succeed. In each case, empowerment is the ultimate key to success. For counterinsurgency, it is about empowering the host country and, for emergency management, it is about

Cascading Consequences: Electrical Grid Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability

George H. Baker and Stephen Volandt May 9, 2018

If there were a prolonged nationwide, multi-week or multi-month power failure, neither the federal government nor any state, local, tribal, or territorial government – acting alone or in concert – would be able to execute an effective response. This bleak outlook results from understanding that so many critical infrastructures depend

Turning Five Crisis Leader Pitfalls Into Opportunities

Domestic Preparedness May 2, 2018

Crises are among the most daunting challenges for leaders. The very nature of true crises – complex, high-consequence events that threaten physical, emotional, economic, and/or reputational health – test a leader’s ability to discern what is happening and what is to be done. The word “crisis” derives from the Greek

In Search of Infrastructure-Proof Emergency Alerts

Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso April 18, 2018

The increased reliance on emergency text alerts to receive warnings of natural or manmade disasters is a capability that most people have come to expect. Listening to broadcast radio warnings of severe weather happening miles away has transformed into more precise, geo-located alerts that target specific locations. The benefits of

Improving Local Health Department Cybersecurity

Justin Snair April 11, 2018

Cyberattacks against local governments are becoming a new normal, yet the nation is not doing enough to prepare local health departments (LHDs) from such attacks. More than just a technological issue addressed by information technology (IT) professionals, cyberattacks can threaten lives and result in losses of integrity, availability, confidentiality, and

Five Steps Toward Enhancing Climate Resilience

Emily Wasley April 4, 2018

People, communities, businesses, and governments around the world are already experiencing the devastating human, economic, and environmental consequences of a changing climate. Many have been impacted by “acute climate shocks” such as wildfires, hurricanes, floods, heatwaves, and severe winter storms – resulting in the loss of lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure.

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