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Critical Infrastructure Protection

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Every nation has an obligation to protect essential government, financial, energy, transportation, and other critical infrastructure operations against terrorist activities and natural disasters. RAND addresses homeland security and critical infrastructure needs through objective research that assists national, state, and local agencies in preventing and mitigating terrorist activities, as well as in improving disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.

Report
How to Protect Army Installations from Emerging Threats
Emerging technologies such as drones, 5G communications, smart city systems, and the use of social media disinformation by adversaries all pose potential threats to U.S. Army bases. A new framework can help assess possible solutions and the resources required to defend against these threats.
Nov 10, 2020
Commentary
How the Military Might Expand Its Cyber Skills
The U.S. military will need to improve its software fluency if it wants to be dominant on the battlefields of the future. Ensuring that future leaders in the military develop cyber skills and the ability to interface with technical experts may be increasingly important.
Apr 22, 2021

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Journal Article
Enterprise Risk Management: How Do Firms Integrate Cyber Risk?
Cyber risk has attracted boardroom-level attention. However, many cyber incidents cost companies less than 1% of annual revenues. Therefore, we examine how companies integrate cyber risk into their enterprise risk management practices.
May 26, 2023
Report
The Metaverse and Homeland Security: Opportunities and Risks of Persistent Virtual Environments
This Perspective provides an initial review of the metaverse concept and its relevance to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The authors map department objectives to key metaverse characteristics and identify areas for proactive efforts.
May 22, 2023
Report
Deterring Threats from Uncertain Origins: Havana Syndrome, SolarWinds, and the Chinese Mafia
“Havana Syndrome,” an unexplained illness first experienced by U.S. diplomatic personnel in Cuba in 2016, illustrates the challenge of responding to national security threats when those threats—as well as the actors and methods behind them—are ambiguous.
May 11, 2023
Blog
RAND Turns 75: A Look Through the Decades At World-Changing Research
From anticipating the Space Age in the 1940s to studying gun policy and COVID-19 responses in the 2020s, RAND is celebrating 75 years of research that has made a difference.
May 8, 2023
Blog
Ukraine's Recovery, Mental Health First Aid, School Staffing: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the trade-offs of Ukraine's reconstruction, the effects of a Mental Health First Aid training program, school staffing challenges, and more.
May 5, 2023
Commentary
Hybrid Work Is Here to Stay. It's Time for Security to Catch Up to Our New Normal
As hybrid work becomes the new normal, workplace practices—security-focused and otherwise—may need to reconsider whether physical presence necessarily improves either security or work outcomes.
May 2, 2023
Multimedia
Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Opportunities for the Department of Defense
An overview of testimony by Jason Matheny presented to the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, on April 19, 2023.
Apr 19, 2023
Testimony
Artificial Intelligence: Challenges and Opportunities for the Department of Defense
Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into U.S. national security plans poses special challenges. And both China and Russia are pursuing militarized AI technologies, intensifying those challenges. What are some actions the Department of Defense could take in response?
Apr 19, 2023
Report
How Will Technology Shape, and Be Shaped By, Policy Choices in the Coming Decades? A Research Agenda from the Technology Futures Policy Summit
The summit gathered 15 top thinkers from industry, academia, and government to evaluate how emerging technologies could change the balance of policymaking and decisionmaking between governments and other actors.
Apr 12, 2023
Testimony
Cyber Threats to Canada's Defence Infrastructure
Cyber threats to critical infrastructure have been a concern for at least three decades. What are the potential impacts those threats can have for the security of North America? And what can the governments of Canada and the United States do to address them?
Apr 6, 2023
Commentary
Can China's Green Energy Acceleration Put at Risk the West's Hydrogen Plans?
Hydrogen (H2) plays a key role in the decarbonization plans of the European Union and the United States. Both have launched aggressive hydrogen strategies to increase the generation of H2 and deployment of related technologies. But these bold ambitions may face headwinds due to the acceleration of China's energy transition.
Apr 3, 2023
Journal Article
Reflecting on One Year of War: The Role of Non-Military Levers
One year after Russia's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this article examines the role of non-military levers (e.g., diplomatic, information, economic) in the conflict so far.
Mar 28, 2023
Commentary
Financial Panic in the Age of Digital Banking and Social Media
Bank runs as a source of systemic risk are nothing new. To manage systemic risks in the age of social media, regulators may need to anticipate where the crisis will go and build in automatic brakes to slow them down. There likely won't be time to react at the speed of negotiation between regulators and bankers.
Mar 14, 2023
Multimedia
Challenges to U.S. National Security and Competitiveness Posed by AI
An overview of testimony by Jason Matheny presented before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on March 8, 2023.
Mar 8, 2023
Testimony
Challenges to U.S. National Security and Competitiveness Posed by Artificial Intelligence
Among a broad set of technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) stands out for both its rate of progress and its scope of applications. How does AI affect national security and U.S. competitiveness? And what actions could national security organizations take in response?
Mar 8, 2023
Commentary
Consequences of the War in Ukraine: The Economic Fallout
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, projections estimated global economic growth in 2022 would be around 5 percent. But the war in Ukraine contributed to slowed economic growth in 2022 and a slowed recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. What are the broader consequences for the global economy?
Mar 7, 2023
Multimedia
Devices and Data: The Information We Share
RAND mathematician Mary Lee describes the wide variety of personal data collected by smart devices and applications, such as smartwatches, brain implants, and period trackers.
Feb 28, 2023
Commentary
Puerto Rico's Food Security Must Factor in Planning Energy Security
The tragedy of disaster recovery has unlocked substantial capital for Puerto Rico to rewrite its interdependent security in energy and food. Considering food security in this context could help to ensure the population has access to both power and food.
Feb 24, 2023
Report
Countering Domestic Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Terrorism on Social Media
Researchers developed the Racist and Violent Extremist Flock (RVE-Flock) tool to explore and analyze textual content and identify and understand emerging terms and their usage on racially and ethnically motivated violent extremist-affiliated social media. This guide explains and demonstrates the tool's functionality and suggests further applications and refinements.
Feb 23, 2023
Report
Promoting Strong International Collaboration in Quantum Technology Research and Development
The author discusses (1) the strategic importance of (and challenges of) strong research collaboration with U.S. allied and partner nations and (2) five key policy areas in this space. He also proposes a desired end state for this cooperation.
Feb 22, 2023

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RAND Topic:
Critical Infrastructure Protection

Topic Synonyms:
CIP

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

K. Jack Riley

Vice President and Director, RAND Homeland Security Research Division

Jack Riley is vice president and director of RAND's Homeland Security Research Division. He directs the RAND Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC), which provides independent and objective analyses to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Karlyn D. Stanley

Senior Policy Analyst

Karlyn Stanley is a lawyer whose career has focused on technology, including building and leading technology-focused legal practices for two international companies and a national law firm, handling high-profile regulatory litigation as a senior lawyer at AT&T, and prosecuting white-collar crime…

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