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Clinton efforts on infrastructure security take on new meaning
SPOTLIGHT
Greenwire
09/19/2001
Darren Samuelsohn and Natalie Henry, Greenwire staff writers
In light of last week's terrorist attacks, interest has been renewed in a
large-scale government/private analysis of U.S. infrastructure that was first
conducted during the Clinton administration. Instigated through a 1996 executive
order, the review looked at potential terrorist acts that could debilitate the
nation's critical infrastructure. Infrastructures identified in the report were
noted to be interdependent on one another and were broken down into two
categories -- physical threats and cyberthreats -- and further into eight
sectors, including electric power, oil, gas, water supply and transportation.
While the report considered previous concerns regarding terrorism and its
potential effect on infrastructure -- sometimes dating back to World War II --
questions have arisen about the scope of the analysis since four hijacked
passenger airplanes crashed last Tuesday into the Pentagon, World Trade Center
and rural Pennsylvania.
Capitol Hill staff are discussing the report and the likelihood of future
hearings. Meanwhile, security issues have become a top priority at the nation's
nuclear power plants and water treatment facilities, among a host of locales.
Indeed, the security issue has reached a level of importance seen only a few
times in the country's history, several sources said, and as further efforts are
undertaken, costs for protection could run into the tens of billions of dollars.
According to the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection,
the product of a year's worth of meetings and analysis, a terrorist attack could
undermine the nation's foundation on a range of levels. For example, the report
said three major oil pipelines in the country offer the greatest potential for
significant impact if successfully attacked. It also said consolidated refining
systems, if taken out of service, would cripple supply and services. Regarding
water, susceptibility is highest downstream from the source, i.e. a river or
reservoir, and could be taken out of commission by a single person carrying a
backpack full of any of a number of biological weapons. A water attack could
easily go undetected and kill thousands of people before warnings are sounded,
the report said.
Nancy Wong is a senior executive at the Commerce Department's Critical
Infrastructure Assurance Office. She also played a key role as a commissioner
working on the Clinton administration report. Wong said last week's attacks
"solved the awareness problem" for industry, adding that the Clinton report had
already given voice to several decades of industry concern about terrorist
attacks. "What was a challenge for most of industry was what a maliciously
intended attack was going to look like," she said. "And unfortunately we found
out what it was going to look like last week."
Irwin Pikus, also a commissioner on the Clinton panel, was tasked with
investigating vital human services such as water supplies. Pikus said the recent
attacks have brought to light a range of issues, from U.S. vulnerability to the
fact terrorists can use the nation's own infrastructure against itself. He also
pointed to the economic aftershocks felt within the airline industry and said
terrorists are aware that the way to cripple the United States is by attacking
its most critical components. "This is now the wake-up call for protecting our
infrastructures," Pikus said.
Efforts to protect U.S. infrastructure from terrorism didn't start with the
Clinton administration, though they did take on a new level of coordination that
has never been seen before. Executive Order 13010, signed by Clinton in July
1996, was the impetus for a vast bureaucratic web that today stretches across
all federal agencies and into the private sector, and is still being interpreted
by the Bush administration. Out of E.O. 13010 came the Clinton panel, which
included 18 commissioners that divided into a range of subcategories
investigating electricity, oil and gas, rail transportation, state and local law
enforcement, banking and finance, water supply and telecommunications. The
Clinton panel finished its report in October 1997.
In May 1998, Clinton culminated the commission's efforts by signing Presidential
Decision Directive 63. The directive lasts beyond Clinton's presidential term
and includes a May 2003 deadline for the nation to have achieved the ability to
protect and maintain its critical infrastructure. PDD 63 created federal
liaisons that have gone on to work with representatives from private industry.
For example, the Environmental Protection Agency became the nation's water
supply caretaker and works with the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies
as its point of contact for the rest of the industry.
PDD 63 also created, in turn, the National Infrastructure Protection Center and
the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office. NIPC, which is located within the
Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is the focal point
for threat assessment, warnings, investigation and response to attacks on
critical infrastructure. CIAO is located in the Commerce Department and, as of
May 2001, was working on the Bush administration's National Plan for Cyberspace
Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection, according to a White House
press release. Last week's attacks delayed the completion of the report, Wong
said, adding that the White House has since sent CIAO a directive to finish the
report, which in turn can be expected to become a "national strategy."
The Clinton report, and all issues surrounding U.S. infrastructure's
vulnerability, also have opened up a pandora's box of issues surrounding
information sharing and confidentiality. PDD 63 created a web of Information
Sharing and Analysis Centers, networks divided by industry sector that are
geared to become the point of contact for everything from risk assessments to
research and development. While some ISACs have advanced further than others, no
doubt one of the touchiest issues is how much information should be revealed to
competitors and the public. Gay Porter Denileon, American Water Works
Association's liaison to the water-centered Critical Infrastructure Production
Advisory Group, said security has "amped up" across the country since last
week's attacks, though she also said she did not want to reveal any details. "We
don't want to create a roadmap" for terrorists, she said.
With regards to security, the Clinton executive order made clear that some of
the information it considered would become classified. And while the panel's
report is available on the Internet in summary form and on hard copy, individual
section reports have not been made available to the public, Pikus said. Select
industry representatives have had access to the information to help them prepare
for potential disasters, according to Wong. Both the oil and gas and electric
power industries have since developed and published their own updated respective
reports earlier this year.
Jim Snyder is a professor at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor School of
Architecture and Urban Planning and was a member of Pikus' water team. He said
releasing information on vulnerability is a double-edged sword. He said he
believes the information should be made public, exposing what is susceptible and
likely creating public pressure to fix it. He said he does not believe keeping
information under wraps will keep it out of a terrorist's hands. "They've
figured this out a long time ago," he said.
Infrastructure issues have also rippled across Capitol Hill and are providing
fuel to efforts for large-scale funding legislation. Jeff More is a former
counsel for the House Transportation and Infrastructure's Water Resources and
Environment Subcommittee and currently lobbies on behalf of AMWA, the
Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies and Ducks Unlimited. He said a
strong "economic argument" can be made to begin investing in infrastructure on
all levels, explaining that for every billion dollars spent on water
infrastructure, some 40,000 jobs would be needed. Snyder added that security
measures would be less costly if they are conducted during initial construction
or during a wide-scale infrastructure overhaul, the latter being an issue
lawmakers have been kicking around for several years regarding the nation's
aging drinking water and wastewater systems.
Throughout the week, Greenwire will look at several components of the
vulnerability of the nation's infrastructure, including water supplies and
electricity, and examine what has been done in response to the Clinton
administration commission. Our series was spurred by original reporting by the
Great Lakes Radio Consortium