Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources

What is Critical Infrastructure?

Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CI/KR) are any assets that the destruction or exploitation of can:

• Cause adverse health effects or large mass casualties.
• Impair federal departments and agencies.
• Undermine state and local government.
• Damage the private sector’s capability to deliver essential services.
• Negatively affect the economy.
• Undermine the public’s morale and confidence.

The Nation’s infrastructure is organized into sixteen sectors:

• Agriculture and Food
• Banking and Finance
• Chemical
• Commercial facilities
• Dams
• Defense Industrial Base
• Emergency Services
• Energy
• Government Facilities
• Information Technology
• Manufacturing
• Nuclear
• Public Health and Healthcare
• Telecommunications
• Transportation
• Water and Waste

Building a Critical Infrastructure Program

Every asset or agency falls into one of these sectors, sometimes into more then one. If you are interested in enhancing security of your infrastructure, below are some starting points to build your own program. For more information, please contact LA-SAFE at 800-434-8007 or lafusion.center@la.gov.

Educating Your Employees

• Know what to look for
• Know how to report
• Know where to report

Planning

• Develop security plans
• Develop specific protective measures
• Know what to do during elevated threat levels

Partnering

• Get involved in Private or Public Critical Infrastructure Councils and HSIN
• Develop closer partnership with local law enforcement
• Share lessons learned and best practices with your peers

Managing Risk

• Raise awareness
• Randomly exercise your protective measures, which validate your security plans and enhance your protection
• Train your employees on what to do in case of an emergency
• Get involved with a professional security organization to review your security and assess Continuity of Business Operations

Get Involved

If you are a government agency or a private sector owner/operator, we encourage you to become our partner by getting involved in the HSIN.

HSIN is a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program designed to address the need for a private and public sector information sharing mechanism.

Benefits include: no cost to user, networking, training initiatives, valuable data, discussion groups, seminars and conferences, and national partnership. To learn more about HSIN go to the HSIN website.

If you would like to learn more about the Critical Infrastructure Protection Program, or request a speaker to discuss benefits of the program, please contact LA-SAFE at 800-434-8007.