Understanding Critical Infrastructures

The average American household income in 2018 was $78,635, and the average household spent $61,224, meaning that they spent roughly 80% of their income according to the Bureau of Labor Statics (Cautero, 2019). Furthermore, statics also tells us a few things such as the average monthly spending of one consumer unit in 2018 was $5,102. That means the average American budget is $61,224 -- a 1.9% increase from 2017. That $5,102 roughly breaks down to equaling; Housing represented 33% of monthly expenses, transportation represented at 16%. Healthcare expenses averaged $414 seems low, but subsidies, employer assistance, Medicare, and Medicaid bring the average cost down (The Ascent, 2020).

Comparing the average household to the national deficient is by no means an equal evaluation. But, the same conclusion can be drawn that both household spending and the USG spending seems to be overbudget. Then again, it would appear as if the average individual is budgeting much better than the USG. With the global spending on technology set to exceed $1Trillion according to Consumer Electronics Association. Would still be considered better spending then the USG, who would appear to be spending frivolously, in things to which they are patching and not fixing (CalCPA, n.d.).

President Trump as a candidate pledged that he would increase spending to $1 Trillion in order to reconstruct the nations infrastructure (i.e. roadways, waterworks, and bridges). This program “a great national infrastructure”, calls for congress to pass legislation on infrastructure investments. The plan highlights that the physical infrastructures which were vibrant, have deteriorated and in urgent need of repair, expansion, and modernization. America, according to the World Economic Forum rakes 9th in the world, with quality of roads ranking 11th (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2020). While the presentation of increasing the budget to more than a trillion dollars, the main question is how will this improve the US posture? In other words where is the money going? With the way this administration has been handle up and until this point, with numerous scandals, one could probably speculate that is going in to someones pocket, but hopefully that is not case. The cost of combating not only the decaying roads, but the protection of our critical infrastructures only increasing daily. With many of President Trump’s promises and visions unfulfilled, the economy’s growth rate has slowed and recession is widely discussed. The stock market’s large gains ended in January 2018, when Trump initiated the tariff/trade “war.” His support of disenfranchised groups (like coal miners and farmers) has done little or no good.

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His defensive tactics cannot counter the reality. Nor can his attempts to distract by taking anti-Obama actions that have no positive vision, like shrinking the endangered species list or allowing dangerous chemicals to be used near water supplies.

In other words, President Trump needs some good news related to his efforts.

“Infrastructure” looks like a (the) clear, win-win strategy with a popular, positive vision that could actually be fulfilled (Tobey, 2019).

What about the large price tag?

Like it or not, money is no object in Congress these days. It’s why the previous infrastructure meeting between Trump and the Democrats had the latter upping Trump’s ante of $1.5 T to $2 T.

Moreover, with low interest rates, the cost of borrowing looks puny compared to the benefits that could result. Long-lived infrastructure spending could rightfully be financed by long-term bonds. Currently, 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds carry annual interest equal to about 2-1/4 cents per $1.00 borrowed.

High Cost of Implementation

Cyber-attacks are on the rise due to the insufficient cyber security framework and lack of cyber governance. Despite the alarming frequency of data breaches and cybercrimes, there is still not enough money—or attention—being paid to information security and, specifically, cyber security in the workplace. Due to the complex networks and the need to develop sophisticated tools to counter the cyber-attacks, the vendors need to constantly upgrade their solutions and develop new technologies. The implementation of physical security technologies demand heavy centralized processing units, analytic, and tools for processing the data, thereby increasing the costs incurred to provide complete perimeter protection to these critical infrastructures.

Rise in security breaches and cyber-attacks targeting enterprises across various industry verticals

In today's business environment, there is increase in the usage of digital solutions, connected devices, and IT systems due to rapid advancements in technologies. The foundation of this digital infrastructure is based on the communication between various business critical applications and data across platforms, devices, and users. With data explosion and frequently increasing cyber threats, chances of data breaches at every level have amplified significantly. Government agencies and energy infrastructure industries are more susceptible to such outbreaks, as such organizations handle a country's critical infrastructure, putting confidential business data and personnel information at risk.

Distributed facilities pose a challenge in the implementation of comprehensive security solutions

The power generation, transmission, and distribution and other key infrastructure are spread over various locations and are connected to each other by network through various modes of communications. The smart grids and utilities such as water utilities, and oil and gas pipelines are spread across a large area and are monitored from the base station. These stations connected by networks pose a challenge for the security companies to implement a comprehensive security solution encompassing all the information and physical security solutions onto a single platform. Hence, to address this challenge, there is a need for a single hub that controls all the multi-site security issues by detecting, assessing, and responding quickly to the security issues with uniformity.

Leading companies and the potential for market growth

Global market for Critical Infrastructure Protection is estimated to be valued at $18.07 billion in 2020 and is projected to be at $55.0 billion by 2030, growing at the rate of CAGR 11.7% through 2020-2030. Increasing investment from emerging countries like India and increasing demand for cybersecuirty, surveillance and access control systems & technologies will increase sales to 2030.

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Stringent government regulations and increasing adoption of best practices for CIP

The CIP systems and service providers, along with government agencies, play a vital role in safeguarding the cyberspace without diminishing the benefits that it provides to critical infrastructures. The private sector holds a major proportion of a country's critical infrastructure and its protection is their primary concern. Agencies from the government provide intelligence, identify threats, and conduct assessments on infrastructures and communities to help businesses and local governments to take decisions and enhance security before the occurrence of an event Terrorist activities across the globe, recent rise in cyber-attacks on Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and other industrial infrastructure, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on the severs of Dyn (the company that controls the internet's Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure) in 2016 that brought down major websites including Twitter, the Guardian, Netflix, Redcfrt, and CNN in the US and European region, and other such incidents have highlighted the necessity to defend a country's orifice' infrastructure. Approximately 90% Y-o-Y increase in targeted attacks has given rise to a large number of government regulations, which are to be strictly adhered to by all the organizations. The government regulations make it mandatory for organizations to adhere to government security standards, failing which they could be penalized.

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