Resiliency Key to Infrastructure Protection

by Mickey McCarter

Reform Institute report examines public-private cooperation as means of boosting resilient systems

The public and private sectors must join forces during the next presidential administration to focus their resources on the resiliency of US critical infrastructure as a means of ensuring both homeland and financial security, according to a report from the Reform Institute released Wednesday.

The report, titled "Building a Resilient Nation: Enhancing Security, Ensuring a Strong Ecomony," may seem timed to the economic shakeup occurring on Wall Stree this week, but the Reform Institute culled the report from the results of a symposium it held in New York City in March.

"With some 85 percent of the nation's critical infrastructure in private hands, the Reform Institute decided to highlight the role of the private sector in building resilience," wrote Robert Kelly, Reform Institute senior advisor, in the report's introduction. " The essence of resilience is the ability of the nation to withstand a catastrophic event and quickly return to a state of near normalcy. With our infrastructure and economic activity as potential targets, the business community is on the front lines of efforts to enhance our resilience."

The report makes some recommendations for institutionalizing resiliency as part of the homeland security culture in Washington, DC, and around the nation. It also examines the role of business in preparing for, protecting against, responding to, recovering from, and leading during a threat to US critical infrastructure.

Public-private partnerships on resilience would permit governments to learn from trailblazing businesses that have established resiliency measures in their operations. Government, in turn, can encourage the adoption of business continuity plans and other strategies to build resiliency in the private sector, the report said.

"There is an important, and heretofore untapped, role for [the US Department of Homeland Security] here," the report noted. "DHS needs to be a national resource--a clearinghouse--charged with: conducting an extensive public awareness campaign targeting US industry and emphasizing the criticality of developing workable and practical business continuity plans; assisting US industry in developing business continuity plans by providing templates, advice, best practices and general 'help desk' like services; and taking a leadership role..."

US business cannot avoid all of the hazards that may strike its critical infrastructure. Those hazards may range from natural disasters to terrorist attacks to cyber sabotage. But private industry can prepare for these hazards by making their systems more resilient and thereby increase homeland, energy and financial security, the report advocated.

Case scenarios

The report highlights a number of efforts businesses have taken in specific areas to build capacities within their organizations to withstand disasters. In a discussion of preparing for resilience, the report calls for joint exercising and planning between government and private companies to ensure the effectiveness of emergency planning. Government must also create long-term plans for all possible risks and fully understand the extent of those risks.

In an examination of preparing for resilience, the report cites Martin Padilla of Shell Energy, who explains how his company has developed an incident command planning system. The emphasis of the planning centers on communication from the field at Shell terminals, stations or refineries, to the executive level. Padilla identifies Hurricane Katrina as a serious test of Shell's preparedness and the company has adapted its plans as a result of the hurricane.

The report goes on to discuss protecting against threats, bringing up the need for supply chain resiliency. Companies such as Target Corp. are involved in discussions of security for rail, port, shipping and borders, the report noted. Bill Tenney, group manager of Target International Assets Protection, relays the necessity for big box stores to participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). Through C-TPAT certification, these companies reduce the number of security inspections on their containers, thereby speeding commerce. Only about half of all companies representing US trade participate in C-TPAT, however, as it is voluntary, and so Tenney calls on more companies to participate.

Responding to crisis becomes necessary when a threat strikes, and threats like Hurricane Katrina were unavoidable for some businesses. In this area, John Kneuer, senior vice president for Strategic Planning and External Affairs at Rivada Networks, shares insights into dependable communications during a crisis. This involves not just appropriate technology so that communications can whether a crisis but also community outreach and planning so that planning and awareness are high.

Rapid recovery from a crisis helps to spur economic growth and resiliency. The report quotes former New York Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen as endorsing the idea that companies can make significant contributions to recovery in general. Businesses such as Wal-Mart, Microsoft, FedEx, UPS, Lowe's and Home Depot possess significant logistical expertise, he says, and that could contribute to the management of supplies as the flow into disaster-struck areas.