Title: Critical infrastructures: the need for international risk governance

Authors: Adrian V. Gheorghe, Marcelo Masera, Laurens De Vries, Margot Weijnen, Wolfgang Kroger

Addresses: Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, Old Dominion University, 252 Kaufmann Hall, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA. ' Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Joint Research Centre – European Commission, T.P. 210 I-21020, Ispra (VA), Italy. ' Energy & Industry Section, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands. ' Energy & Industry Section, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Jaffalaan 5, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands. ' Laboratory Safety Analysis, ML J 13.1, Sonneggstrasse 3, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract: Infrastructures (e.g., electric power system, transportation system, information and communication systems) were not designed as integrated systems, as they are operating today. Some infrastructures, e.g., energy, water supply and telecommunications, are so vital and ubiquitous that their incapacity or destruction would affect security and the social welfare of any nation and cascade across borders. They are exposed to multiple threats (terrorist attacks, natural disasters, institutional changes) and their failure might induce risks to other interconnected systems. The paper outlines the urgent need to address such problems with appropriate risk governance and in-time policy analysis at an international level.

Keywords: critical infrastructures; electricity infrastructures; risk governance; interdependencies; digital systems; Europe; EPNES; security.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2007.011543

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2007 Vol.3 No.1/2, pp.3 - 19

Published online: 01 Dec 2006 *

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