The Critical Infrastructures

Critical Infrastructures
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Critical Infrastructures
Critical infrastructures are vital in expediting United States’ economic vitality, safety, public health, and security. For that reason, the government ought to protect the critical infrastructures from all forms of threats to facilitate their sustainability. According to Rehak et al. (2018), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) commits towards enhancing the security of critical infrastructures and the communities that depend on them. Since the incapacitation or destruction of critical infrastructures might have a debilitating effect on security, the DHS collaborates with private and public sectors to secure them. One of the critical aspects is reinforcing and maintaining the functioning and resilience of critical infrastructures. The communications sector, energy sector, and financial services sector are the critical infrastructures in the United States vital to facilitating key operations.
Communications Sector
The communications sector is a critical component of the United States’ economy that facilitates the effective operation of the government, public safety organizations, and businesses. According to the Presidential Policy Directive 21, the communications sector provides an “enabling function” in all other areas of the economy (Rehak et al., 2018). Over the last three decades, the sector has evolved from just a voice service provider to an interconnected industry with wireless transmission systems. Besides, communication systems are a critical component of the United States’ national infrastructure. However, modern communication systems are susceptible to cybersecurity threats that hinder their effective functioning.
Over the last three decades, incidents of undocumented attacks on communication systems have been increasing steadily daily. Such attacks range from malicious attempts to extract financial gain to crude access attempts (Gheorghe et al., 2018). Malicious activities increased following capitalization on the “openness” of networks through internet innovation. Following an increase in attacks, the government has collaborated with the private sector to minimize vulnerability to cyber-attacks while minimizing damage to communication systems.
The communication sector has facilitated United States’ security by implementing security strategies. For instance, DHS serves as a focal point of cyberspace security to facilitate information sharing, reduction of vulnerability, analysis, and early warning to facilitate recovery of information systems. Furthermore, according to Lukasik et al. (2020), Homeland Presidential Directive established a national policy for federal agencies to prioritize United States critical infrastructures and prevent cyber-attacks. In such a case, the federal government had a chance to address cyber security issues within the federal government systems.
Energy Sector
The energy sector is an equally critical infrastructure that fuels the economy of the 21st century. The health and welfare sectors rely on a stable energy supply for their effective operation. According to the Presidential Policy Directive 21, the energy sector is critical since it provides an “enabling function” on all the other critical infrastructure sectors. The privat...