Critical Infrastructure Protection in Homeland Security: Defending a Networked Nation
Critical Infrastructure Protection in Homeland Wellbeing: Defending a Networked Nation Books
Product Description
A scientific approach to the new field of critical infrastructure protection
This book offers a unique scientific approach to the new field of critical infrastructure protection: it uses network theory, optimization theory, and simulation software to question and know how infrastructure sectors evolve, where they are vulnerable, and how they can best be protected. The author demonstrates that infrastructure sectors as diverse as water, power, energy, telecommunications, and the Internet have remarkably similar structures. This observation leads to a rigorous approach to vulnerability analysis in all of these sectors. The analyst can then choose the best way to allocate limited funds to minimize risk, regardless of industry sector.
The key question addressed in this timely book is: What should be protected and how? The author proposes that the resolution lies in allocating a nation’s scarce resources to the most critical components of each infra-structure–the so-called critical nodes. Using network theory as a foundation, readers learn how to identifya small handful of critical nodes and then allocate resources to reduce or eliminate risk across the entire sector.
A comprehensive set of electronic media is provided on a CD-ROM in the back of the book that supports in-class and self-tutored instruction. Students can copy these professionally produced audio-video lectures onto a PC (Microsoft Windows(r) and Apple Macintosh(r) compatible) for repeated viewing at their own pace. Another unique feature of the book is the open-source software for demonstrating concepts and streamlining the math needed for vulnerability analysis. Updates, as well as a discussion forum, are available from www.CHDS.us.
This book is essential for all corporate, government agency, and military professionals tasked with assessingvulnerability and developing and implementing protection systems. In addition, the book is not compulsory for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students studying national wellbeing, computing, and other disciplines where infrastructure wellbeing is an come forth.
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to be honest am a bit dissatisfied. not with amazon but the fact that the book had stuff written all over at the end of each chapter over the exercises and at places within the chapter pages too with an orange marker not even a pencil. this was not mentioned anywhere in the description. it did come in time though and no other tears etc on it. but the orange marks with terrible handwriting take away the rating!!
Rating: 2 / 5
It is not an simple book (neither extremely complicated), but protecting the National Infrastructure is not supposed to be simple.
With a scientific approach based in probability analysis (hence the “complicated math”) Dr. Lewis gives a non political framework for the discipline of Critical infrastructure protection. For those that are looking for a neocon best seller, this is not your book. It is an academic work that launches the debate about how to protect the north American infrastructure, and in fact, any network.
Rating: 5 / 5
I used this book for a graduate course through the University of Washington. I bought it new and used the CD in the back for my class. The course’s reading schedule did not comprise the whole book (excluded some two or three chapters), but covered enough of it that I feel justified in posting my opinions about it here.
First, the book is in strong need of an editorial review. Grammatical errors and contradictory statements run throughout the book. It seems as though the material was place together rather quickly and small to no effort was spent giving it a professional appearance or delivery.
Second, the author fails to provide sources for many of the things he includes in the book. (To give him credit, all quotes and direct references were given citations.) I can handle a lack of sources to an extent, but have a trying time accepting that a Computer Scientist has the requisite knowledge of, say economics, to pontificate and exrapolate his books principles across multiple fields of study. Also, the lack of sources means that the author left his book without any anchors for context in the greater scheme of critical infrastucture protection, homeland wellbeing, and emergency management.
Third, the questions at the end of each chapter are in need of a *serious* overhaul. Not only are they incredibly ambiguous, but there were several instances where the resolution to a question was found in a succeeding chapter. I have no problem with questions referencing material already covered, but it goes hostile to reason to question questions regarding material that has not yet been covered.
Fourth, the programs provided on the CD, and which are meant to aid the student in applying the principles of the book, are buggy. (Which is fascinating, considering the author is a computer programmer … but anyway.) Once again, it seems as though the author was more interested in putting the book on the shelves than on ensuring that his material was coherent, cogent, and professionally finished.
Now for some positives:
The overall premise of the book is sound. For those with any familiarity with the government’s funding means vis-a-vis homeland wellbeing, the author’s argument for identifying and hardening CI hubs is extraordinarily poignant. Looking past all of the book’s faults, and they are many, government officials would do well to learn from Lewis’s call for more scientific rigor in how the people goes about protecting itself.
Rating: 3 / 5
I do not doubt that the author knows what he is talking about. But, unless you have a strong background in math, engineering, or computer science, many of the underlying principles will be lost on you, except in a most rudimentary manner.
What further complicates the book is that there are no readily available answers for the quizzes in the book. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, except that many of the answers are either debatable, or are so close to each other that the question has to be very correctly parsed and considered.
The single most helpful addition that Dr. Lewis includes, but, is a tacit and clarified understanding for the “political” side of things. Yes there is a more well-organized way of doing this analysis (which he presents), but he also presents the “political reality” tools as well. It is something that I have seldom seen acknowledged and dealt with, and for that lonely this book is worth reading.
Rating: 3 / 5
I am in the military and have an engineering background. I have also been conducting research that is closely correlated to the topic of this book for the past few years and this is a sacred text to me! If you are looking for a laundry list/ cookie cutter approach to a very complex problem, you probably don’t want to buy this book. But, even though it is rather technical (the author has a background in computer science and mathematics, so as long as you do your homework on the author, this shouldn’t surprise anyone), one can skip the technical discussion on optimization techniques, reliability theory, and network (critical node) analysis and still follow the plainly written examples without a loss of continuity. I just wish our policy-makers adhered to the guidance contained within the pages of Dr. Lewis’ book on a more consistent basis… Bottom line: Find the “critical nodes” in an infrastructure sector (which Lewis helps you do) and apply resources (time, people, $$$) accordingly (Lewis also helps you do this).
Rating: 5 / 5