29 May 2006RNSA Workshop 1 Social Implication of National Security RNSA Workshop The risk of public data availability on critical infrastructure protection Roba Abbas BICT (Hons) Candidate

29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop2 Public Data Availability Literature -Role of ICTs -National security, open information access & privacy Literature clusters Critical Infrastructure Literature -Physical vs. cyber infrastructures -Infrastructure interdependencies Critical Infrastructure Protection Literature -Recent events -CIP process GAP

29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop3 What is critical infrastructure?  In Australian context: banking & finance transport & distribution energy & utilities health the food supply communications 1.Cyber infrastructures 2.Infrastructure interdependencies must also be noted, that is, the relationship between the infrastructure Vital services contributing to the security & stability of a country

29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop4 What is critical infrastructure protection (CIP)?  Safeguarding the identified services from potential harm, including physical and/or electronic attacks  The process of protecting critical infrastructure has become increasingly important due to a number of recent events e.g. Y2K, 9/11, Bali  Although the specific details of the activities vary, the stages of the CIP process are standardised: Vulnerability Assessment Risk Assessment Risk Management

29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop5 What is public data availability?  Refers to ‘sensitive but unclassified’ data public records that may be accessed  Includes both free and commercial information  Since 9/11: a direct link has been drawn between public data collection (facilitated by ICTs) and the act of terrorism

29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop6 Public data elements and their use  Articles/ Documents  Maps/ Photographs  Statistical Information  Transactions/ Records  Personal information  Community facilities  Multimedia  Phone/ / IP Address  Social service needs  Competitive intelligence  Geospatial intelligence  Data mining  Sabotage  Cyberfraud  Terrorism

29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop7 Previous studies  Breeding (2003) Sensitive but Unclassified Information: A Threat to Physical Security  Weinmann (2006) Terror on the Internet: The New Arena, The New Challenges  Both describe the need for controlling access to public data, in order to maintain national security How do we balance open information access and national security concerns?

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29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop11 Significance of study  Terror was his doctrine, court told:  “The alleged preparations included acquiring two maps of the grid under a false company name and downloading 38 aerial photographs of the defence sites” Sydney Morning Herald article, Tuesday 25 th May 2005  However…  ICTs can aid national security efforts  Public data may be used for positive purposes

29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop12 Questions?

29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop13 Next steps 1.To identify the agencies supplying data across Australia 2.To create a geographic information system (GIS) for Wollongong Australia on critical infrastructure 3.To determine the potential misuse or threats of Objective 1 & 2 data being publicly available 4.To assess the level of community awareness related to public data availability

29 May 2006 RNSA Workshop14 2 important aspects of CIP process have been ignored…  Community awareness Community awareness is required in the initial stages of the CIP process Some authors claim that lack of community awareness has contributed to the severity of the recent events  Regional context Successful CIP requires the input of both federal and local governments Metropolitan cities have been the focus of CIP efforts Regional areas play an important role in the supply chain