Securing Critical Infrastructures and Cyber Systems Assignment

Securing Critical Infrastructures and Cyber Systems - Assignment Example rrespondence to securing our cyberspace will eventually affect how safe and secure we are as a country and the benefits our country will reap from this digital era. Infrastructure control systems face risks because of system vulnerabilities, cyber threats and grave probable effect of attacks as displayed by reported incidents. Cyber threats can be targeted or untargeted, intentional or not and come from numerous places. Control systems are nowadays more vulnerable to cyber-attacks because of numerous reasons, counting the increased connectivity of systems through the internet. From evidences of past control attacks, it is clear that effect on critical infrastructure is vast. In 2003 for instance, a computer virus shut down the train signaling system all through the East Coast. In 2006, a foreign hacker planted malicious software that had the ability of affecting a water treatment plant’s operations. Infrastructure owners face organizational and technical challenges to securing control systems. Technical challenges include restricted processing abilities, design constraints and real-time operations all of which deter the owner’s ability to implement information technology security processes. Organizational defies which include difficulty in coming up with convincing business case for capitalizing in security and contradictory priorities of information security personnel and engineers. Numerous private sector acts such as standard setting associations and trade associations are putting up efforts to aid in securing control systems. The efforts put forth by the private sector entities include, providing guidance to members, developing standards and hosting workshops on security of control systems. For instance, the electricity industry recently advanced standards for the cyber security of their control systems and a trade association (gas) is in the process of developing gu idance to members to use encryption as a security measure to protect control