Critical infrastructure is a collection of networks, systems, and assets that are so vital to a country’s economy, security, and public health that their ongoing operation is necessary. Transport systems, electricity, air and seaports, hospitals and health clinics, water and communications systems, and centers for police, fire, and public administration services are a few examples.
What are the 16 Critical Infrastructure Sectors in the United States?
While critical infrastructure is comparable in all countries due to basic human needs, critical infrastructure can differ depending on a country’s demands, resources, and development level. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the U.S. has identified 16 essential infrastructure sectors as follows:
1. Communications Sector:
The communications sector would include, namely, satellite, voice, wireless communication services, and landline phones, mobile services, broadband internet, etc.
2. Chemical Sector:
This sector would include everything from the manufacturing and storing process to transportation of chemicals, pharmaceutical products, and other consumer goods, from basic chemicals to agricultural chemicals.
3. Commercial Facilities Sector:
In this sector, shopping, business, and lodging facilities are covered, from retail centers, movie studios, casinos, theme parks, zoos, hotels, and condos to apartment buildings, office spaces, news channels, and anything that attracts the masses for entertainment.
4. Defense Industrial Base Sector:
In this sector, R&D, production, development, design, delivery as well as maintenance of military weapons systems and other US military requirements would be involved.
5. Critical Manufacturing Sector:
In critical manufacturing, electrical equipment, and components manufacturing, the production of machinery, primary metals, and transportation equipment is included.
6. Dams Sector:
This particular sector would cover areas relating to water retention and control services, like municipal or industrial water supplies and hydropower plants. Flood control, waste management, irrigation, and river navigation would also come under this sector.
7. Financial Services Sector:
In the financial sectors, any operation or services related to banking credit, investments, investment funds, insurance, and other financial-related areas would be included.
8. Emergency Services Sector:
Emergency services would cover any service or institution that deals with emergency services at federal, state, or local governmental levels, such as fire stations, city police dept, town public works, state or local governments, private security, private emergency medical services, or industrial fire departments.
9. Energy Sector:
This sector would deal with electricity, whether solar or coal plants, natural gas, and oil plants, or the pipeline or distribution of their products.
10. Government Facilities Sector:
In addition to federal, local, state, and tribal governments, this sector also overlooks courts, embassies, consulates, access control systems, CCTV systems, national labs, etc. that are associated with US Govt. facilities
11. Food and Agriculture Sector:
Farms, food manufacturing, processing, restaurants, storage of food, and relevant industries, including livestock, would come under the food and agriculture sector.
12. Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector:
The nuclear reactor sector is focused on managing and handling radioactive materials, nuclear power reactors, their disposal, as well any reactor associated with research and test reactors, national electricity, and mater