The Reasons For Critical Infrastructure For Australia And Identifying Vulnerabilities

Weaknesses are a symptom that is prevalent in today’s information technology realm, indicating vulnerabilities and risks that come hand and hand with shared networks like Aircraft Solutions. With enterprises exchanging an unprecedented level of information over open networks, the vulnerabilities and possibility of compromised security by unwanted intruders is swelling up into a new type of beast.

This project is to help the Aircraft Solutions (AS), Aircraft Solution Company for equipment and component fabrication in Southern California, in identifying the most important security vulnerabilities. This project also describes about the possible threat for the company security, Hardware and Software systems.

In this report I will be describing the ways in which networks can be attacked, also be giving real life example of each of the below.

Since the onset of the first packet switching event that many believe to be beginning of the internet, no other technology besides the printing press has ever transformed the ability to deliver information. Although the internet is used by a large percentage of the civilized world, few Americans realize how vital cyberspace is to our national infrastructure. Today, we are faced with even more threats although it has been a recognized problem since 2009, when President Barrack Obama said “The cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation. It’s also clear that we’re not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country (Obama, 2009).” Every industry that operates in the United States is dependent on the internet for some aspect of their business. Commerce, transportation, financial institutions, military, as well as industrial control systems are all interconnected. This interconnectedness has created vulnerabilities within their infrastructure that have increasingly become targets of terrorists, script kiddies, foreign governments and hackers of all types.

The cybersecurity simulation rounds in UMUC?s Cybersecurity Master 's degree capstone are an integral part of the learning program. The simulation rounds expose students to real world incidents in a cyber representation of the US. In this environment students are provided a chance to gain experience in a setting where mistakes are far less impactful than those made in the real world. The environment includes five critical infrastructure sectors; DTL Power, Federal Government, Hytema Defense, Mistral Bank and Avisitel Telecom. The control decisions made by each have the potential to impact other groups operating within the environment.

Lab #1 – Part A – List of Risks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities Commonly Found in an IT Infrastructure

Introduction: - for my research project, I would like to explore about the cyber security measures. Cybersecurity covers the fundamental concepts underlying the construction of secure systems from the hardware to the software to the human computer interface, with the use of cryptography to secure interactions. These concepts are easily augmented with hands-on exercises involving relevant tools and techniques. We have different types of computer related crimes, cybercrimes, computer related offenses, federal approaches defenses. The information resources management has the technical matters for which IT are widely known. Cyber resources and cyber power as well as cyber security. We have spent a lot of time talking about many different high level critical infrastructure protection concepts we have general rule stayed away from cyber security explaining the ins and out of how the NIPP and NRF work together to ensure that we can live our daily live in relative comfort.

One of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) most important missions is protecting critical infrastructure. Assessing CI vulnerabilities is critical to strengthening their capabilities and ensuring resiliency. Since most of them are privately owned, the Department partners with the private sector in conducting voluntary, non-regulatory vulnerability assessments (“Critical Infrastructure”, 2015). According to Homeland Security (2015), vulnerability assessments are the foundation National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) which outlines how the government and the private sector work together to manage risks to achieve security and resiliency goals (“Critical Infrastructure”, 2015). Protecting America’s electrical power grid is especially complicated because all of the other CIs depend on the energy sector’s

A critical infrastructure is defined as any facility, system, or function which provides the foundation for national security, governance, economic vitality, reputation, and way of life. (http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/NIPP_InfoSharing.pdf)In short, critical infrastructure is by definition essential for the survival of the nation. The USA PATRIOT Act specifically defines critical infrastructure as "systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, (Jena Baker McNeill and Richard Weitz, 2010) so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating

Critical Infrastructure can be protected by assessing the threats and vulnerability. After that, a plan to counter threats and vulnerabilities should be developed (International Journal of Control and Automation, n.d.). There is no such thing as a perfect plan or a perfect world. Just because there are vulnerabilities does mean it can be fixed or brought down to a minimum. These are the best results to ensure Critical Infrastructure Protection from the International Journal of Control and Automation:

When it comes to the protection and mitigating of any structure or organization risk analysis and vulnerability assessments must be conducts so as to know what’s to be protected, the threats manmade or natural disaster, ranking the potential of threat as well as the probability. In terms of critical infrastructure the risk analysis and vulnerability assessment has guidelines from Homeland Security Presidential Directive Number 7(HSPD-7).

Throughout this research we have shown the affects of a cyber attack on our water supply. We have also evaluated the impact that a cyber-attack could have on our water supply. Lastly we looked at the probable third and fourth order effects from the cyber-attack on this critical infrastructure to include the effects on other critical infrastructures that may be affected by the initial cyber-attack. If we do not take the actions of those who seek to harm us through either a physical attack or cyber attack seriously and work as a team we will fail as a

The 2003 northeast blackout that saw about 50 million people from the northeast US and southeast Canada lose power for about 2 days at the cost of $6 billion dollars according to JR Minkel (Minkle) and was the biggest blackout in North American history (Minkle). The disaster lead to a report that showed the blackout was caused by a combination of human error and equipment failure. To prevent issues like this in the future a “smart grid” needs to be developed that would monitor and repair itself in the event of problems. Essentially computers and applications would be the first responder when there is an equipment failure on the grid. The problem with this solution is that by placing more of the control of the power grid into the hands of computers and applications, it opens up the grid to cyber-attacks. The economic impact of a total or even partial failure of the power grid is astronomical and makes a very appealing target to those who wish to cause

Critical infrastructure vulnerability is the in-depth analysis of the degree of loss of a given item of the list of foundations at a risk resulting from a given threat at a certain level of severity. In this case, the support includes objects such as public service water systems, transportation, telecommunication, and energy supply. The analysis in this paper shows how the major infrastructural systems are connected to come up with an extensive system free of vulnerability. To achieve that objective, the writer will see the details of acceptable CIP management models to explain the importance of interconnectivity then provide specific examples for demonstration.

Prevalent to the current trend now is the dependency of the society on Information technology and communication systems. Every aspect of human life is one way or the other linked and controlled by information technology tools. The importance of information technology cannot be over emphasized as its unavailability could lead to a form of disaster or the other. Pivotal infrastructures like finance, healthcare, education and security are driven by information technology. However, information technology and its benefits are accompanied by vulnerabilities and risks that can be exploited by people with the necessary technical skills. Individuals like ‘Hackers’ and ‘Cyber Terrorist’ can cause disruption to information systems, commit financial fraud and also attack computers and networks. These attacks and disruptions could result to violence against people and properties. In some cases, death, serious injuries and severe economic loss could occur as a result of these attacks.