Cyber Infrastructure Protection Volume II

There is a relentless struggle taking place in the cybersphere as government and business spend billions attempting to secure sophisticated network and computer systems. Cyber attackers are able to introduce new viruses, worms, and bots capable of defeating many of our efforts. The U.S. Government has set a goal of modernizing the nation’s energy grid. A cyber attack on our energy grid could cut off service to large areas of the country. Government, business, and academia must therefore work together to understand the threat and develop various modes of fighting cyber attacks, and to establish and enhance a framework for deep analysis for this multidimensional issue.
The cyber infrastructure protection conference for academic year 2010-11 focused on the strategic and policy directions, and how these policy directions should cope with the fast-paced technological evolution. Topics addressed by the conference attempted to answer some of these questions: How serious is the cyber threat? What technical and policy-based approaches are best suited to securing Telecommunications Networks and Information Systems Infrastructure security? What role will government and the private sector play in homeland defense against cyber attack on critical civilian infrastructure, financial and logistical systems? What legal impediments exist on efforts to defend the nation against cyber attacks, especially in the realm of preventive, preemptive, and retaliatory actions?

Our offerings here are the result of a 2-day colloquium titled Cyber Security Infrastructure Protection, conducted on June 8-9, 2011, by the Center of Information Networking and conducted on June 8-9, 2011, by the Center of Information Networking and Telecommunications (CINT) vi
at the Grove School of Engineering, the Colin Powell Center for Public Policy—both at the City University of New York, City College (CCNY)—and the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College. The colloquium brought together government, business, and academic leaders to assess the vulnerability of our cyber infrastructure and provide strategic policy directions for the protection of such infrastructure.
Given the complexities of national security in the 21st century and the fast-changing nature of the cyber domain, the Strategic Studies Institute proudly presents the results of this very relevant colloquium. We are sure it will be an essential read for both the practitioner and academic alike to gain a better understanding of cyber security.