Inherently Secure Next‐Generation Computing and Communication Networks for Reducing Cascading Impacts

Abstract

In the post 9/11 time frame there has emerged a greater recognition, supported by Presidential Directives on the subject, of the need for cyber security to be applied to all phases of information and control systems technology. This article offers a brief discussion of factors critical to success in assessing and defining cyber security risk. There is also a review of a number of parameters that are relevant when assessing an organization's security posture with respect to interdependency with other critical infrastructures and reduction of cascading impacts. The article also addresses considerations relative to the need for hardened supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, through adherence to one or more established sets of cyber security standards or guidelines and by adoption of new security technologies, techniques, and best practices. The article identifies several existing cyber security standards, some of which have been the subjects of comparison studies by analysts working under contract with the government. These studies identified relevant gaps and in the overall security coverage.