Critical infrastructure (CI) are those assets, systems, and networks that provide functions necessary for our human, social, and economic wellbeing. There are key sectors that are part of a complex, interconnected ecosystem and any threat to these sectors could have far-reaching and destructive national security, economic, and public health or safety consequences.
Despite their reliance on critical infrastructure, developing countries (and several developed nations) at-large have not implemented a nationally-coordinated framework to protect their vital information assets. Cyber attacks, such as distributed denial of service (DDoS), ransomware, advanced persistent threats (APTs), and others can severely affect all the CNI sectors. Cyber attacks differ greatly from traditional types of threats such as terrorism, criminal activities, natural disasters and industrial accidents, among others. Cyber attacks can now be initiated by any person with limited technical proficiency or resources, and these attacks can have a direct effect on overall wellbeing of modern societies.
Last week, I presented at the 2025 Guyana Energy Conference on CNI protection, particularly touching on real-world incidents and addressing the threat landscape, risk assessment, adversary categories, challenges, and opportunities. I also emphasized that a multi-stakeholder approach premised on mutual trust is optimal towards achieving CI protection outcomes.
Check out my presentation HERE.
Niel Harper 