What is Critical Infrastructure?

Critical Infrastructure has a long history of being associated with telecommunications, healthcare, data centers, utilities, and the list could go on.  But what are we actually talking about when we say ‘critical infrastructure’, what is this infrastructure that has been deemed ‘critical’? Therein lies the problem, who made up the rules to this game?

I’m not going to bury the lead here, critical infrastructure can be anything that is critical to your business.  With telecom, hospitals, data centers, etc, that infrastructure is typically power, cooling, networks, life safety, building structural components, etc.  If you switch to utilities, such as natural gas, which most of us northerners rely on for winter heat, the infrastructure would include piping, pumps, storage, and security.  Control circuits, wiring and programming in any industry are also critical infrastructure.  

So that all makes sense, those industries scream “we’re important!” protect us!!  We protect those industries by design and implementing systems that reduce and in some cases nearly eliminate failure.  But what about other folks, the restaurant owner, the diesel or propane delivery company….

The restaurant owner has refrigerators and freezers, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC).  As a restaurant owner you focus on what is important and that's making great food for your guests.  Are you focused on your air conditioner, freezers, refrigerators? Maybe, but from my poking around usually not.  Nice dining establishments and the like are focused on the food and dining experience, not what's sharing power with their freezer.  While really nice, your restaurant doesn’t need battery protected power supplies, but your typical construction electrician will tell you a properly sized electrical panel can support your air conditioning and your fleet of freezers and refrigerators.  The problem lies when inevitably the compressor dies (and it will) on your air conditioner and trips the main breaker on the panel that feeds all those freezers and refrigerators on it.  That freezer is critical to you and your restaurant, therefore that freezer is critical infrastructure and should be treated as such.  Have we set it up electrically for success, does it have a maintenance plan, is it alarmed and where does that go? 

Some people will tell you that the above paragraph is some well crafted fear mongering. Well, maybe not well crafted.  My rough writing style aside, you are focused on your business, not the underlying infrastructure that helps support it, until it doesn’t.  We’ve been building, supporting, educating, and operating critical infrastructure environments for a very long time.  I was never the guy who got to build something and walk away, as part of my job I had to own the operation of these places too.  The point is, we get it because we live it, every single day. Let us help you with the infrastructure that is critical to you.  

Take Care, Scott