Critical Infrastructure

The innovative technological advancements shaping critical infrastructure construction

zqureshi — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 13:50:52 +0000

The innovative technological advancements shaping critical infrastructure construction zqureshi August 16, 2021

If you鈥檝e ever lived in an area with road construction, it may seem like projects take an eternity and that nothing has changed in the way work has been done since Eisenhower formed the interstate highway system in 1956. The truth is road construction projects have adopted huge technological advancements that have led to faster and safer projects, with more innovations occurring every year.

As covered by Jennifer Goodman for ConstructionDive, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) designated 13 new projects as Infrastructure Gamechangers. These projects represent the latest innovations in infrastructure engineering.

Goodman highlights four of the advancements that are being used in transportation construction to build bridges, maintain roads, and create tunnels, among many other transportation-related projects. Three of these projects are outlined below.

Concrete Sensor System

The first project is a concrete sensor system being used by the Indiana Department of Transportation (DOT). The concrete sensor system tells workers how far along the concrete is in the maturation process.

鈥淏y leaving the sensors within the concrete for an extended period, engineers can study the effectiveness of their work over time, as opposed to the conventional testing period of just 28 days,鈥?says Goodman.

The sensors track the concrete鈥檚 status over time, including communicating to the DOT when concrete needs to be replaced.

Unmanned Bridge Inspections

With more than 590,000 highway bridges, it鈥檚 easy to see why failing bridges is a huge concern for the nation鈥檚 infrastructure across every state.

In Michigan, a large number of bridges are over water leading to concerns of scouring, which occurs when fast moving water removes sediment from the bridge structure. These bridges need close monitoring, especially during high-water scenarios.

Trying to conduct this monitoring in those high-water events is a dangerous task. As a result, the state is turning to unmanned vehicles to help improve worker safety.

鈥淭he department is employing an autonomous boat-like device, called an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) to inspect bridge footings beyond what is usually possible during human dives,鈥?says Goodman. 鈥淭he 4-foot-long USV, named EMILY, uses cameras and sonar technology to investigate conditions around a bridge before determining if a crew member needs to get in the water.鈥?lt;/span>

Recycled Road Pavement

Resource management is vital to the transportation industry not only from a cost perspective, but also from an environmental safety perspective. California鈥檚 TechniSoil Industrial uses both recycled plastic and reclaimed asphalt in their roadway product called Neo.

鈥淣eo uses 150,000 plastic bottles per lane mile to create a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a decrease of 84 truckloads per mile of hauling waste asphalt out and new asphalt in, and provides the opportunity for same-day returns to traffic,鈥?says Goodman.

To do this, the existing road asphalt is milled and mixed with a polymer-infused substance, which is then immediately re-paved onto the road. The resulting roadway will last longer and be stronger than traditional materials, according to ASCE.

Check out Goodman鈥檚 full article on all four transportation projects on ConstructionDive or read about all thirteen Infrastructure Gamechangers.

Learn more about Capitol Tech鈥檚 degree programs in Construction, Facilities, and Safety and Security, Intelligence, and Critical Infrastructure. Many courses are available both on campus and online. For more information, contact admissions@captechu.edu.

Categories: Critical Infrastructure

Critical Infrastructure and cybersecurity in food and agriculture industry

zqureshi — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 21:05:01 +0000

Critical Infrastructure and cybersecurity in food and agriculture industry zqureshi July 21, 2021

Roads, electricity and water are often things we think of as 鈥渃ritical鈥?to our infrastructure. We make assumptions that as long as we have power, water, and can get from place to place, we don鈥檛 have anything to worry about. However, as many witnessed during the recent COVID-19 pandemic when supplies were often interrupted, the food and agricultural sector is an equally important piece of the nation鈥檚 critical infrastructure.

According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, the food and agricultural sector accounts for roughly one-fifth of the nation鈥檚 economic activity. It is also unique in that it鈥檚 almost entirely under private ownership, including farms, restaurants, and food manufacturing, processing, and storage facilities.

Recent cybersecurity attacks on the agricultural industry

Like many other infrastructure sectors, the food and agricultural sector is facing challenges from ransomware attacks, on top of supply chain disruptions and climate change concerns.

In early June, Russian-based hackers successfully infiltrated JBS USA, one of the top beef producers in America, reports Samantha Schwartz for CybersecurityDive. As a result, slaughterhouses were forced to close for several days, which could lead to an increase in meat prices.

The attack was so severe, hitting both North American and Australian JBS locations, The White House and Department of Agriculture stepped in to offer assistance. JBS headquarters in Brazil appeared less impacted. JBS has indicated they are able to restore data from backups and that no customer, employee, or supplier data has been compromised.

President Biden, who has long been a proponent of increasing cybersecurity protections, has also focused his early days in office on improving infrastructure.

The government鈥檚 plan to address critical infrastructure and supply chain issues in agriculture

In partnership with Biden鈥檚 plan, the USDA has indicated they will be investing $4 billion in strengthening the nation鈥檚 food chain through the Build Back Better initiative.

In a press release from early June, the USDA stated that, 鈥淭he new effort will strengthen the food system, create new market opportunities, tackle the climate crisis, help communities that have been left behind, and support good-paying jobs throughout the supply chain.鈥?lt;/span>

This will include development of a new task force that will address supply chain challenges by identifying the problems and solutions related to supply constraints.

鈥淭he COVID-19 pandemic led to massive disruption for growers and food workers. It exposed a food system that was rigid, consolidated, and fragile. Meanwhile, those growing, processing and preparing our food are earning less each year in a system that rewards size over all else,鈥?said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, in the USDA press release.

USDA鈥檚 Build Better Back initiative combined with the existing infrastructure updates outlined in Biden鈥檚 American Jobs plan will see many changes occurring toward strengthening America鈥檚 food and agricultural sector of critical infrastructure.

Students studying critical infrastructure at Capitol Tech will learn about critical infrastructure protection for food and agricultural facilities, among other key facilities, in the course Critical Infrastructure III.

Categories: Cybersecurity, Critical Infrastructure

The 16 Sectors of Critical Infrastructure

eliadmin — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 19:35:52 +0000

The 16 Sectors of Critical Infrastructure eliadmin November 6, 2017

Why has the U.S. government designated 16 sectors of critical infrastructure? Because these sectors need cybersecurity, and other forms of protection, so we can maintain our lives. From the most basic aspects of life鈥攈aving clean air to breathe and water to drink鈥攖o the more complex鈥?coordinating airplane traffic and securing nuclear reactors, life as we know it depends on these 16 critical infrastructure sectors.

Categories: Critical Infrastructure

The 16 Sectors of Critical Infrastructure

Food & Agriculture

The Food and Agriculture Sector encompasses the complete supply chain from farm to fork and protects against contamination, severe weather, cyberattacks and more.

Energy

Everything鈥攊ndustry, businesses, hospitals, transportation, schools and households鈥攄epends on a stable energy supply. All the other critical infrastructure sectors are crippled without The Energy Sector.

Dams

We depend on the Dams Sector for hydroelectric power generation, agriculture irrigation, sediment and flood control, industrial waste management, river navigation and much more.

Critical Manufacturing

Many of the other critical infrastructure sectors depend on the products made by the manufacturing industry, making the Critical Manufacturing Sector crucial to the economic prosperity and continuity of the United States.

Government Facilities

The Government Facilities Sector includes office buildings, embassies, courthouses, national laboratories, and special use military installations in the United States and overseas.

Transportation

Anything that moves people and/or goods鈥攖rain, planes, boats, highways, mass transit, pipelines and shipping services鈥攊s protected by the Transportation Systems Sector.

Chemical

The Chemical Sector protects the manufacturing, storing, and transporting of the potentially dangerous chemicals that are used to create more than 70,000 products we use daily.

Nuclear

The Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector secures everything from the power reactors that provide electricity to millions of Americans, to the medical isotopes used to treat cancer patients.

Financial

The Financial Services Sector needs protection from large-scale power outages, natural disasters, and an increase in the number and sophistication of cyberattacks.

Defense

The Defense Industrial Base Sector plays a vital role in the design, development, production, delivery, and maintenance of military weapons, systems and more.

Water & Wastewater

Thanks to the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector, the approximately 153,000 public drinking water systems and more than 16,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment systems are protected.

Healthcare

The Healthcare and Public Health Sector protects Americans from hazards such as terrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and natural disasters.

Commercial Facilities

Thank the Commercial Facilities Sector for the safety and security of people in crowded settings such as; hotels, convention centers, amusement parks, museums, offices, shopping malls, zoos, apartments, casinos, and sports stadiums.

Emergency Services

The Emergency Services Sector coordinates the efforts of millions of people who provide prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery services during both day-to-day operations and incident response.

Communications

The Communications Sector is a complex web of terrestrial, satellite, and wireless transmission systems that enables banks to transmit transactions, paramedics to respond to emergencies, and people to communicate.

Information Technology

Businesses, governments, academia, and private citizens are dependent upon information technology, making this sector important to all aspects of our lives.