TOPSGRUP - Information Infrastructure


	INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
	What is information infrastructure? It's the computers and communication lines underlying critical services that our society has come to depend on financial networks, the power grid, transportation, emergency services and government service. Information infrastructure includes the Internet, telecommunications networks, "embedded" systems (the built-in microprocessors that control machines from microwaves to missiles), and "dedicated" devices like the computer you're using now. The U.S. information infrastructure, which is mostly privately owned, is an important resource in peacetime and a vital one during a crisis. During the September 11 attacks, for example, telephone traffic surged, straining the capacity of switching equipment and cellular networks, and failures in the New York Fire Department's radio system meant that some firefighters did not receive orders to leave the Twin Towers before they collapsed. What does information infrastructure have to do with terrorism? Protecting the information infrastructure is a key aspect of security experts. Government officials and information technology (IT) experts worry that terrorists might try to undermine the key information infrastructure with acts of cyberterrorism. Experts also say that the federal government could modernize its information infrastructure and use it as a tool against terrorism. How could information technology be used to fight terrorism? In many ways, from programs that can assist in foreign-language translations to massive databases that compile data and search for patterns that might signal future attacks. Proposals for the cabinet-level and from other federal agencies have asked for funding to jump-start computer-aided threat assessment. Information is the best friend of prevention. While experts agree that the our government's information systems are outdated and inadequate, some IT experts warn that the creation of centralized databases could invite abuse by law enforcement officials and compromise the privacy of ordinary citizens without necessarily preventing terrorist attacks. Which government agencies collect information relevant to terrorism investigations? Federal, state, and local agencies collect enormous amounts of data in many ways, including through passport inspections, visa application interviews, customs declarations, local police investigations, foreign and domestic intelligence reports, social welfare programs, and tax filings. More than 60 federal agencies gather information that could shed light on terrorist activity. Is this information stored on computers? Not always. Some agencies keep some records only on paper or are slow to transfer information to computers. How up-to-date are the government's information systems? It varies, experts say, but as a rule they're older, slower, less reliable, more expensive to maintain, and less able to share information with other computers than the machine you're using to read this fact sheet. Many agencies depend on obsolete computer systems-decades-old mainframes designed for specific tasks, programmed in now-obscure computer languages, and incompatible with other computers, often even those within the same agency. Complex purchasing procedures, the high cost of modernization, and inadequate funding mean that government computer systems lag far behind those in the private sector. The Customs Service and the INS are each now spending more than $1 billion on multiyear programs to modernize their systems What obstacles lie in the way of using the information infrastructure to combat terrorism? In addition to the limitations of technology, there are institutional and legal obstacles to government information sharing. Government agencies are unaccustomed to sharing information with one another-partly to protect their own turf but also to avoid compromising sources or ongoing investigations. Combining government files with private sector data raises additional legal issues, and some experts worry that private databases might contain unreliable information that would affect an investigation. Security is another concern. If a hacker or an insider broke into an central database, terrorist groups might gather valuable intelligence, learn how to evade detection, or sabotage the system Could better information systems have prevented the September 11 attacks? It's hard to say. The names of Muhammad Atta and some of the other September 11 hijackers appeared on various agencies' watch lists, yet the terrorists still managed to enter the United States and remain there undetected. Some experts say that a governmental information-sharing system might have connected the dots about al-Qaeda's plans before September 11, but others say that the government's lack of action on reports from the Minneapolis and Phoenix FBI offices means that the government must focus on improving how people share information, not technology. While it took private credit agencies mere hours to reconstruct the pre-attack movements of many of the hijackers, it's important to remember that it is far easier to piece together clues after the fact than beforehand, when one doesn't know what to expect. And computers ultimately need people to feed them data and to direct them in terms of how to look at it.