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General Martin Dempsey, 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that the global security environment was the most unpredictable he had seen in his 40 years of service. In the 2015 National Military Strategy, it spoke of a significant increase in global disorder—a world now filled with multiple security challenges from traditional state actors and transregional networks of sub-state groups (National Military Strategy, 2015). Advancements in computing over the past five or six decades have transformed our society from one in which we have seen lives changed through access, innovation, and convenience. We see end-to-end connectivity around the globe; devices that look increasingly less like traditional computing devices, e.g., laptops, desktops, and even personal digital assistants (PDAs); and a world that has become strikingly more intertwined and interdependent.
Much of General Dempsey’s view is shared by many, including some organizations, such as the Organization of American States (OAS). Adam Blackwell, Secretary for Multidimensional Security, OAS, noted that ‘the Internet has reduced through connectivity the size and separation of the world’. The incorporation of information and computing technologies into devices that no longer resemble traditional computing devices such as laptops, desktops, and personal digital assistants (PDAs) reflecting the Internet of Everything has dramatically altered today’s landscape, including:
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Changed significantly how information is shared
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Revolutionized business processes
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Changed the way countries and critical infrastructure are operated (Report on Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure in the Americas, 2015)
The pervasiveness of computing within our lives has changed the services and capabilities we expect to be available to us. The role of the critical infrastructure in meeting many of the service needs that we demand has not fully been appreciated in terms of its relevance to the quality of life that we have learned to embrace and demand. The critical infrastructure provides ‘critical’ services and products that drive and support society, serving as the backbone of a nation’s economy, security, and health. In the United States, the critical infrastructure sectors (all 16 of them) consist of the assets, systems, and networks (physical or virtual) considered vital to the nation’s interests and survival (Homeland Security, 2015).