Regional Security
FAST Act Spurs MPOs to Broaden Risk Reduction Efforts
Federal
Current federal transportation legislation, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, expanded the scope of the metropolitan planning process to include the consideration of improving transportation system resiliency and reliability. It also encourages MPOs to engage in consultations with officials responsible for risk reduction from man-made and natural disasters.
State
Federal regulations require each state to develop a risk-based asset management plan for the National Highway System (NHS) to improve or preserve the condition of the assets and the performance of the system. In general, a state risk-based asset management plan must address pavements and bridges but are encouraged to include all infrastructure assets within the highway right-of-way such as pavement markings, culverts, guardrail, signs, traffic signals, lighting, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) infrastructure, rest areas, etc.
Regional
OKI will continue to collaborate with a variety of entities to utilize the most current technology and guiding principles to help minimize the impact of natural and man-made events, as well as system failures to ensure a secure, reliable, regional, multi-modal transportation network. A regional security strategy relates to sustainable prevention, detection, response and recovery efforts to protect regional transportation systems’ critical infrastructure.
Critical Infrastructure
The OKI region is fortunate to have a diverse range of multi-modal transportation infrastructure. The critical need for the region to invest in the maintenance and expansion of this infrastructure will not only ensure the continuous flow of freight, economic activity and the quality of life in the area, but also help address The FAST Act’s policy of improving transportation system resiliency and reliability.
Highways
In addition to fulfilling the mobility needs of the community, highways are essential for evacuation and in response and recovery efforts. About 27,400 lane miles of roadways in the OKI region transport both passengers and goods. On an average day, travelers log about 50 million vehicle miles.
National Highway System
The core of the roadway network is this region’s components of the National Highway System (NHS). Within the OKI region, the 2,390 lane miles of NHS include I-71, I-74, I-75, I-275, I-471, US 27 (in Ohio, north of I-74; in Kentucky, between the Ohio state line and I-471 in Southgate and between I-471 in Highland Heights and SR 9), US 42 (in Kentucky, between KY 237 and I-71/75), US 50 (in Ohio, between I-75 and Beechmont Avenue), US 52 (between I-275 and Clermont County line), KY 8 (between I-71/75 and I-471) and KY 9 (the AA Highway) (between I-275 and Campbell County line), KY 16 (between KY 17 and I-275), KY 17 (between KY 8 and I-275), KY 18 (between KY 237 and I-71/75), KY 212 (between I-275 and CVG airport), KY 237 (between I-275 and US 42), KY 1120 (between I-75 and I-471) in Kentucky, and SR 4 (north of I-75), SR 4 Bypass, SR 32 (east of I-275), SR 48 (north of SR 73), SR 73 (between SR 744 and SR 48), SR 125, SR 126 (Ronald Reagan Highway), SR 129 (Butler County Veterans Highway), SR 562 (Norwood Lateral), SR 741 (north of SR 73) in Ohio. This region’s NHS components carry over 50 percent of the region’s daily traffic.
Hazardous Materals
To take a more proactive approach in terms of the transport of hazardous materials, several locations in the OKI region are restricted to such cargoes. Alternate routes are provided and must be used. Re-routing of hazardous highway shipments from densely urban areas reduces the opportunity for chemical disaster risks whether accident or terrorism to occur. The OKI Regional Freight Plan (August 2011) documented that hazardous materials comprise more than five percent of total freight volume and value in the region. By 2040, the Regional Freight Plan projected that hazardous materials will account for just over four percent of total freight volumes.
Bridges
The OKI region consists of over two million people. Their livelihood and the economy of the region greatly depend on the highway system. With the natural barrier of the Ohio, Licking, Great Miami and Little Miami rivers, and their numerous tributaries, bridges are a critical element of the region and a key consideration of disaster preparedness.
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Ohio River Bridges
The Ohio River Bridges represent seven of some of the most critical structures in the region. Listed from east to west, the population and economy of the region depends on these seven bridges:
- I-275 – Combs-Hehl Bridge
- I-471 – Daniel Carter Beard Bridge
- US 27 – Taylor Southgate Bridge
- John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge
- US 42 – Clay Wade Bailey Bridge
- I-71/75 – Brent Spence Bridge
- I-275 – Carroll C. Cropper Bridge
Brent Spence Bridge
Of particular importance to the OKI region — and all of North America — is the consistent operation of the Brent Spence Bridge. Interstate 75 connects Miami, Florida, and Sault Ste. Marie, Canada. The current configuration of the Brent Spence Bridge presents a problem for homeland security efforts. The movement of emergency vehicles across the bridge in the event of serious emergency is restricted by the lack of shoulders and substandard vertical clearance, which is less than 15 feet.
The Brent Spence Bridge was designed for 80,000 vehicles per day. In 1995, it carried 143,000 vehicles a day, or nearly twice its original design capacity. In 2019, it carried 157,300 vehicles per day, a 10 percent increase over 1995. By the year 2040, the traffic volume is expected to increase to more than 200,000 vehicles per day, which is more than 1.3 times today’s volume and 2.5 times its original design capacity.
Ohio River Ports
The Ohio River is the largest tributary by volume of the Mississippi River Inland Waterway System. The river’s current depth is at least nine feet along the length of the entire navigation system. The OKI maritime system consists of about 50 river terminals along the Ohio and Licking rivers, handling a variety of bulk cargo. Almost 10 percent of river shipments are hazardous due to the transport of petroleum products and chemicals by barge. Within the OKI region, the Ohio River system is dominated by private terminal operators.
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Locks and Dams
Upstream of St. Louis, tows are limited to 15 barges because of the size of the locks—chambers that lift or lower towboats through dam structures—which are required to maintain the minimum channel depth of nine feet. Two lock and dam complexes in the OKI region illustrate their importance to interstate commerce and security. The Markland Locks and Dam, located at Ohio River Mile 531.5, is 3.5 miles downstream of Warsaw, Kentucky. Markland had a miter-gate failure in 2009. The disruption of the 1,200-foot lock forced large barge tows to disassemble so they could pass through Markland’s 600-foot auxiliary chamber. This malfunction caused by age and disrepair resulted in delivery delays of almost 11 hours on average. Improvements to the locks and dam were completed in 2010. Upstream of the OKI region, the Captain Anthony Meldahl Locks and Dam underwent reconstruction in 2010, which included the addition of a three-turbine, low-impact hydroelectric plant and spillway.
Modernization and Maintenance
Modernization and maintenance along the Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee-Tombigbee river systems continues to be a top local, regional and national priority. More than half of the current navigation structures are past their structural design life. Plans are underway to modernize several locks and dams; however, a systematic improvements program for inland maritime networks is needed to ensure continued commerce and security.
Railroads
Railroads are vital to the economy, national defense and public health. About 40 percent of all intercity freight goes by rail, including 64 percent of the coal used by electric utilities to produce power. The chemicals used to purify the nation’s water supplies also move by rail. Railroads provide critical support to the Department of Defense Strategic Rail Corridor Network (STRACNET), which includes more than 30,000 miles of interconnected rail line. It provides the backbone for the movement of Department of Defense shipments.
Railroad Line Congestion
In the OKI region, the main railroad lines run north/south through the Mill Creek Valley and form the spine of the region’s rail system. CSX and Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS) each operate, on average, about 75 trains per day through the most congested section of this area. Any major disruption to these lines would result in rerouting trains around the region, and would lead to congestion on other rail lines, longer shipment time and more delays. It could also result in a temporary mode shift, exacerbating truck congestion in the region. The NS and CSX railroads have bridges crossing the Ohio River south of Cincinnati, and adverse impacts on them represents a security risk with a profile similar to the Ohio River highway bridges.
Railroad Safety
To take a more proactive approach in terms of the transport of hazardous materials, several locations in the OKI region are restricted to such cargoes. Alternate routes are provided and must be used. Re-routing of hazardous highway shipments from densely urban areas reduces the opportunity for chemical disaster risks whether accident or terrorism to occur. The OKI Regional Freight Plan (August 2011) documented that hazardous materials comprise more than five percent of total freight volume and value in the region. By 2040, the Regional Freight Plan projected that hazardous materials will account for just over four percent of total freight volumes.
Pipelines
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) provides public data on pipelines in the U.S. PHMSA illustrates the efficiency of pipeline transportation, using the example of a large pipeline that can transport roughly two million barrels of gasoline a day. An equivalent amount by another mode would take the following:
- 9,375 large semi-truck tankers
- Twenty-four 100-car unit trains extending three miles each
- Ten 15-unit barge tows
Trucks, vessels and trains consume diesel or other liquid fuels and contribute to congestion in the nation’s freight and passenger transportation corridors. Further, as the National Transportation Safety Board has observed, pipeline transportation has a consistently lower accident rate than other modes.
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OKI Region Pipelines
The OKI region contains more than 904 miles of pipelines. These pipelines carry natural gas, liquid petroleum gas, crude, empty liquid, highly volatile liquid and product made from refined oil (i.e.: gasoline, home heating oil, jet fuel, diesel, lubricants, and the raw materials for fertilizer, chemicals and pharmaceuticals). There are a number of river terminals and pipeline operators in the region, although an exact number is difficult to know because of security measures surrounding the pipeline industry. Therefore, the following information describes pipeline operations in the region to the degree that could be discerned from various public sources.
The majority of pipelines serving the OKI region carry natural gas and are dispersed throughout the region. Petroleum and other pipeline operations are also prevalent. A single crude pipeline runs about 50 miles north-south through the OKI region. Pipelines designated as “unspecified” by the PHMSA comprise the second greatest percentage of total linear miles.
Transit
The effectiveness of transit systems depends on their accessibility. As a result, transit agencies face significant challenges in making their systems secure. For example, the high ridership of some transit agencies makes them attractive targets for terrorists; it also makes certain security measures, like metal detectors, impractical. In a chemical spill or other emergency event, transit could aid in evacuating large numbers of people during a crisis.
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Butler County Regional Transit Authority
The Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA) is currently developing an Emergency Preparedness Plan to address the organization’s changing needs. Global positioning systems (GPS) are now on all fixed, paratransit, and flex service vehicles, which allow the dispatch center to monitor movements in real-time. Over the next few years, BCRTA will be replacing the portable Motorola radio system, which will no longer be supported by the Butler Regional Interoperable Communications System (BRICS) with an in-vehicle mounted system. A cradlepoint project will also be implemented in 2020 to allow wireless access to the on-board surveillance system in real-time.
City of Middletown Transit System
The Middletown Transit System is operated as a division of the city’s Department of Community Revitalization. As part of the city, the transit system is incorporated in the Emergency Preparedness Plan created in 2000, and the plan is updated as needed. Transit system security also includes electronically monitored facilities and random on-board police checks.
Clermont Transportation Connection
The Clermont Transportation Connection (CTC) is the public transit service for Clermont County. CTC has an approved System Security and Emergency Preparedness Plan. Current security measures taken by CTC include on-board video cameras, emergency call buttons and electronically secured and monitored facilities.
Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority
The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) operates Metro, the public transit service for the greater Cincinnati area. Metro has an approved System Security and Emergency Preparedness Plan with functioning components for continuous updating. Metro has also developed a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) to help guide the agency in the event of an emergency.
Current security measures taken by Metro include on-board video cameras, emergency call buttons, and a global positioning system. Security measures also include random police rides, police checks while buses are in service, and periodic canine inspections of the coaches at the garage. Metro’s facilities are secured with proximity employee ID badge readers and monitored via a closed circuit camera monitoring system.
In addition to working closely with local law enforcement, Metro has developed an operational relationship with the Department of Homeland Security and the regional Emergency Management Agency in establishing a unified system of security for the prevention of intentional harm to their employees and the ability to maintain service in the event of an emergency.
Warren County Transit Service
The Warren County Transit Service (WCTS) has a System Security and Emergency Preparedness Plan. Also, WCTS has on-board cameras, and each vehicle has a radio that is connected to the county’s public safety communication system. This system is part of the statewide Multi-Agency Radio Communications (MARC) program that allows drivers direct access to emergency dispatchers.
Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky
The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) has an Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) that was completed in 2003. The EPP established by TANK includes a communications checklist, media process, alternative vehicle and fuel storage locations, and finance and administrative procedures. The EPP is updated periodically (most recently in 2014), with contact information and any changes necessitated by TANK’s involvement with other regional emergency planning partners. TANK also has a shelter in place policy, adopted in 2018.
In addition, TANK works closely with local law enforcement, SORTA, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), and the Northern Kentucky Emergency Planning Committee to play a significant role in protecting against, responding to and recovering from major events. TANK’s fleet of vehicles are equipped with multiple onboard security cameras and a GPS-based vehicle location system, which is monitored 24 hours a day. TANK’s administrative, operations, and maintenance facilities are equipped with motion-sensing cameras that record continuously. Access to TANK’s operating facility is secured with badge readers.
Regional Homeland Security
For more than a decade, a diverse network of partnering agencies have worked to broaden emergency planning and response efforts in the Greater Cincinnati region. Many groups have formed to address regional issues associated with homeland security. OKI partnerships with such regional organizations are in direct alignment with The FAST Act’s policy of encouraging MPOs to consider broadening to encompass consultations with officials responsible for risk reduction from natural disasters.
Security and Emergency Management Agencies
There are three levels of emergency response in the OKI region: local fire and police agencies, which have the resources and equipment to manage most natural and human disasters; county emergency management agencies, which plan and coordinate major response activities; and state emergency management agencies, which coordinate emergency response staff and equipment from a deeper resource pool.
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Details of Emergency Response
For the vast majority of security and emergency cases, local police and fire agencies are equipped to handle incidents, including HAZMAT releases or major infrastructure failures. Where there is an uncommon release of material, agencies have “mutual aid” agreements to share technical resources if a certain agency lacks capacity or expertise. Similarly, larger emergency incidents — such as extraordinary fires, materials spills or infrastructure failures — can draw on the combined human and equipment resources of multiple jurisdictions across a region.
County emergency management agencies play a key role in emergency planning and coordination. Planning includes inventorying resources for deployment in the event of a disaster, planning for infrastructure disruptions, identifying temporary housing resources for displaced people and conducting mock disaster exercises with local response agencies.
SOSINK Responsibility Lies in Preparing for Regional Emergencies, Disasters
The Southwestern Ohio, Southeastern Indiana, Northern Kentucky (SOSINK) committee meets on a quarterly basis. A SOSINK steering committee:
- Representing the 12 counties in Ohio (Adams, Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland and Warren); in northern Kentucky (Boone, Campbell and Kenton); and Indiana (Dearborn).
- Various disciplines responsible for the prevention, protection, response and recovery from weapons of mass destruction and natural incidents.
- Oversee all committee efforts and guide the process for the region.
- The SOSINK steering committee meets as needed to address regional planning needs or issues.
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SOSINK members
The SOSINK steering committee includes the core city and core county point of contacts and representative membership as follows: Each county is guaranteed one representative on SOSINK to be chosen from their respective County Terrorism Preparedness Advisory Committee, which comprises the initial 12 members. Each 100,000 of population in the individual county is given one additional representative for that county, which adds about 18 additional members to the SOSINK steering committee. Finally, regional memberships were included from Ohio Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Region 6 Coordinator, the American Red Cross, Northern Kentucky Regional EMA Coordinator, Southeastern Indiana Regional EMA Coordinator and The Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Hospital Council.
Additional regional collaboration includes being one of the first regions to form a successful regional terrorism early warning group (TEWG). There is a regional health council, representing all the hospitals in the tri-state area, a regional Red Cross Chapter and Regional Medical Response System. The continuation of these regional efforts through the formation of the SOSINK will enhance all these efforts, as well as assist in the planning and response capabilities for the entire tristate.
Greater Cincinnati GIS Users Group
The Greater Cincinnati Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Users Group convenes across state, county and city boundaries to learn from one another, as well as consider opportunities for collaboration to benefit the region. The group advocates for a coordinated regional approach to the design and development of GIS databases, a unified data dictionary and data standards, which promote the flow of information and data sharing across the region. This regional GIS database could also be used in response to any number of security issues facing the region by local emergency agencies, all working from the same base of updated geographic information. User group members have offered their GIS expertise during extended activations of the Regional Operations Center (ROC).
Disaster Preparedness Coalition
The Disaster Preparedness Coalition (DPC) is a multi-disciplinary group of agencies and organizations who collaborate in order to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, mass casualty incidents, public health emergencies, or other catastrophic incidents requiring a unified response. The DPC region encompasses southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky, and southeast Indiana, enhancing the region’s ability to achieve emergency preparedness capabilities as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
Regional Emergency Mapping System
OKI, in cooperation with regional partners and SOSINK, developed and uses a cutting-edge emergency management system known as RAVEN911 (Regional Asset Verification & Emergency Network). This system incorporates critical infrastructure layers, live data feeds and analytic capabilities into an Internet-based common operating picture, allowing emergency responders from across the Greater Cincinnati region to identify significant infrastructure and key resources.
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Learn more about RAVEN911
RAVEN911 provides a common operating picture to achieve situational awareness and a series of tools to prepare for, respond to or recover from a large-scale emergency. RAVEN911 can help identify local resources such as the closest fire stations and urgent care centers. It can gather intelligence about a particular emergency via integrated Twitter, Instagram and Flickr search functions. Also, RAVEN911 can view live feeds around emergency scenes, which are helpful in determining evacuation capacities and routes.
This system is utilized by first responder disciplines defined by the Department of Homeland Security including Fire, EMS, Hazardous Materials, Law Enforcement, Public Health, Government, Hospitals, Public Works, Emergency Management, Communications, Volunteers/Public (such as Red Cross or Salvation Army), numerous Federal Agencies and Private Industry Partners.
RAVEN911 incorporates the aforementioned emergency response tools and technologies into a single Web-based interface, which ensures that all stakeholders are “reading from the same script” and facilitates a common operating picture for all users. RAVEN911 provides a progressive solution to traditional pen and paper systems, which allows emergency personnel to define incidents spatially and visualize response assets.
The system covers a 12-county, three-state region, encompassing southwest Ohio, southeast Indiana and northern Kentucky. OKI’s project partner, the Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency (HCEMA), worked on behalf of emergency management agencies from across the region.
Regional Security Planning Elements
OKI has completed a number of regional and sub-regional plans or studies. Many of these documents include security-related recommendations for future implementation. Although the initial intent of these recommendations may have been to address congestion or travel time, taken in a broader context, these elements could also assist in increasing the region’s security through improved transportation networks. The text that follows provides a sampling of such recommendations and references the plan or study from which it was drawn. This information is presented for consideration and further application to benefit the security of the entire OKI region.
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Intelligent Transportation System
OKI’s Regional Intelligent Transportation System Plan (ITS Plan) and ITS Architecture was last updated in 2016. The purpose is to guide OKI, its member transportation agencies and local governments in the planning, programming and implementation of integrated multimodal ITS elements over a 10-year period.
Regional Traffic Management
Today the system is managed by ODOT and KYTC in their respective states. It is comprised of closed-circuit television cameras that are located along the region’s interstate corridors. These cameras relay information back to a control center via fiber optic cable and telephone lines. Information is then distributed to motorists via OHGO and changeable message signs.
ARTIMIS kicked off Ohio’s state of the art traveler information system. The current components of ODOT’s traveler information system:
- 511 phone number
- OHGO website (replacement for artimis.org I presume)
- OHGO mobile app
- OHGO API
- Overhead DMS signs and ground mounted DDMS travel time boards
All of this information is accessible 24/7:
- Incidents (ODOT detected or Waze detected)
- Construction (current or planned – an upgrade from the original statement)
- Camera images
- Travel delay
- Weather hazards
- Digital sign messages (Travel times, incident information, variable speed limits, and truck parking)
Emergency Traffic Signal Preemption
Emergency preemption was widely adopted throughout the OKI region and was documented in such projects as the Western Hamilton County Transportation Study and the Dixie Highway Corridor Study. The Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices 2003 Edition, issued by the Federal Highway Administration, defines preemption control as “The transfer of normal operation of a traffic control signal to a special control mode of operation”. Preemption devices can be provided for any type of vehicle that requires the immediate right-of-way at an intersection such as emergency vehicles.
In the OKI region, emergency preemption has been supported by local elected officials, staff and police, fire and emergency medical service (EMS) operators. Stakeholders view preemption as a means of improving response time of emergency personnel and safety at intersections. A Hamilton County study of Colerain Avenue showed that using emergency preemption, EMS travel time could be reduced by as much as 22 percent. In emergencies, this amount of time savings could literally mean the difference between life and death.
Adaptive Traffic Signals
The Boone County Transportation Plan (January 2018) considered innovations occurring at the time in transportation operations and infrastructure to address safety, congestion and other key mobility challenges. Currently most signal systems use a combination of timing, vehicle detection, and strategic offsets to move platoons of traffic through a corridor. However, a new method of traffic signal system timing is available, known as adaptive signal controls. These controls detect the traffic demand and adjust signal timing based on real time demand. Depending on the traffic patterns and existing signal timing, adaptive signal controls can reduce delay between 10 and 50 percent.
This type of technology moves beyond earlier emergency preemption devices in that adaptive traffic signals enable safe, interoperable networked wireless communications among vehicles, the infrastructure, and passengers’ personal communications devices, thereby more efficiently and safely moving all vehicles along an entire corridor whether in every day or emergency traffic conditions. As a result of the Boone County Transportation Plan, the City of Florence is partnering with Boone County to introduce a signal upgrade project along the Mall Road, US 42 and Ewing Boulevard corridors. The signal system upgrade will include a central based signal system, upgraded controllers at twenty four intersections, adaptive signal control, emergency vehicle preemption, CCTV cameras and a fiber optic communication network.
Integrated Corridor Management
The United States Department of Transportation has introduced the concept of Integrated Corridor Management (ICM). ICM is defined as a collection of operational strategies and advanced technologies that allow multiple transportation subsystems to operate in a coordinated and integrated manner. With ICM, transportation professionals can manage the transportation corridor as a multimodal system rather than a fragmented network of individual assets. Using a wide variety of operating scenarios, operating agencies can manage demand and capacity across multiple travel modes in real-time to improve mobility, reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and increase travel time reliability and predictability. For ICM projects to be implemented across the OKI Region, additional investments will be needed in infrastructure that supports communication.
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Fiber Optic Networks
Fiber optic cables are the most modern and reliable means of transferring large amounts of data quickly and seamlessly. Cables are composed of flexible glass or plastic tubes that use laser light beams to transmit data and are not susceptible to electromagnetic interference like metal cables. This allows data to flow over great distances without degrading. The biggest limitation hindering widespread fiber optic adoption is the large capital expenditure of installing new fiber optic lines when old infrastructures such as DSL and cable are still serving customers. A fiber optic backbone is a needed first-step in supporting an ICM network.
Big Data
In our almost two decades, post 9/11 world, homeland security has taken on new meaning since the last update of this Plan. With the rapid expansion in technological innovations, as data moves faster and more frequently, it becomes more challenging to ensure not just the privacy of public and personal data, but also the security of entire networks and physical infrastructure that is being operated through technology. This issue is receiving a tremendous amount of attention due to the development of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), Connected Vehicles (CVs) and autonomous vehicle features.
Over the past few years, USDOT has been initiating a national discussion and creating a framework for AV technology. The most recent version, Ensuring American Leadership in Automated Vehicle Technologies: Automated Vehicle 4.0, was released in January 2020. It expands USDOT’s scope to include all surface on-road transportation systems around advancing multi-modal safety, reducing policy uncertainty, and outlining a process for working with USDOT.
Cybersecurity
Transportation systems are increasingly complex, with a growing number of advanced, integrated functions. These systems are also more reliant than ever on multiple paths of connectivity to communicate and exchange data. USDOT is working to set cybersecurity standards and establishing models and partnerships to mitigate the risk of hacking or intrusions
State, local, and Tribal governments face unique cybersecurity threats that can endanger critical infrastructure. Transportation systems that depend on digital infrastructure are at risk when they do not prioritize maintaining security, modernizing systems to reduce vulnerabilities, and implementing enhancements to increase the resiliency of digital infrastructure. Significant service degradation has occurred when technology, people, and processes failed to prevent security failures; including data encrypting ransomware, other malware, and insider-threat activities.
To mitigate potential threats, appropriate investments in the digital infrastructure include strong security and functional testing of the technology, people, and processes. As threats evolve, key decision makers should have an effective and flexible security program in place to assess and manage risk, including evaluating technology, key facilities, engaged personnel, and security processes. Plans to respond to cyber-attacks should be exercised, and should be aligned with emergency management and recovery protocols shared across all industry sectors.
Privacy
While advanced safety technologies have the potential to provide enormous safety, convenience, and other important benefits to consumers, data privacy concerns are frequently raised as potential impediments to deployment.
Interoperability
In addition to standards that support interoperable integration, efforts are focused on describing common terminology, required performance capabilities, and interfaces between subsystems inside automated systems. There are also sets of published best practices and frameworks that complement and are used in conjunction with voluntary technical standards.