Week Five Discussion One

 What are the Food and Agriculture, Emergency Services, Energy and Financial Sectors Specific Plans? Why are they important? How are each of the sectors at risk? Give an example. Please provide at least two references to support your answers 

 
Managing Risk: Assessment and Countermeasures Critical Infrastructure Sectors Food and Agriculture, Emergency Services, Financial Service, and Energy
This week we move into Critical Infrastructure Sectors food and agriculture, emergency services, financial services, and energy. As you will see in all the readings involving the sectors, there are sector specific plans and, in some cases, Presidential Directives relating to that particular sector.  Out of this week’s sectors, energy, is the one that receives a lot of focus.  Attacks to Ireland’s EirGrid, and the 2015 and 2016 Ukraine grid attacks, show how vulnerable networks are. In 2016 and 2017 there were digital assaults on U.S. energy companies (source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-power-grid-getting-more-vulnerable-to-cyber-attacks/ ).  Traditionally, manual backup systems were used in case of power outages.  Now we rely on less people and more computer-based systems. This topic also affects industrial infrastructures which we will examine later.
Read:

Food and Agriculture Sector

DHS Critical Infrastructure Sector – Food and Agriculture https://www.dhs.gov/food-and-agriculture-sector
DHS Food and Agriculture Sector-Specific Plan – 2015 https://www.dhs.gov/publication/nipp-ssp-food-ag-2015
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 9, Defense of United States Agriculture and Food https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PPP-2004-book1/pdf/PPP-2004-book1-doc-pg173.pdf  

Emergency Services Sector

DHS Emergency Services Sector https://www.dhs.gov/emergency-services-sector
DHS Emergency Services Sector-Specific Plan – 2015 https://www.dhs.gov/publication/nipp-ssp-emergency-services-2015

Financial Services Sector

DHS Critical Infrastructure Sector – Financial Sector https://www.dhs.gov/chemical-sector
DHS Financial Services Sector-Specific Plan – 2015 https://www.dhs.gov/publication/nipp-ssp-financial-services-2015

Energy Sector

Energy (video) https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/making-the-grade/making-the-grade-videos/
DHS Energy Sector https://www.dhs.gov/energy-sector
DHS Energy Sector-Specific Plan – 2015 https://www.dhs.gov/publication/nipp-ssp-energy-2015
The Old, Dirty, Creaky US Electric Grid Would Cost $5 Trillion to Replace.  Where Should Infrastructure Spending Go? http://theconversation.com/the-old-dirty-creaky-us-electric-grid-would-cost-5-trillion-to-replace-where-should-infrastructure-spending-go-68290
Hackers Gain Direct Access to US Power Grid Controls https://www.wired.com/story/hackers-gain-switch-flipping-access-to-us-power-systems/