Terrorism Studies: Critical Infrastructure Protection

This module can be studied on a standalone basis or as part of the Certificate in Terrorism Studies

• The importance of the protection of critical infrastructure and key resources
• Understand the current threats to critical infrastructure and key resources posed by terrorism. 
• Explain the critical infrastructure protection cycle as well as risk assessment and risk management plans.
• Case studies on nuclear energy, aviation and cyberspace security to understand the issues of criticality, vulnerability and threats to key assets
• Critical infrastructure interdependency and Complex Adaptive Systems
• Critical infrastructure protection vs. Critical infrastructure resilience
• Future threats to critical infrastructure

Download the full Certificate in Terrorism Studies prospectus here

The need to protect critical infrastructure against all possible risks is nothing new: protecting their key resources was imperative for all organised and civilised societies, from the earliest city states of Sumer to modern mega cities such as London, New York, or Tokyo; from the earliest empires such as Rome to today’s nation states; and from autocratic societies to liberal democracies.  However the risk and consequences have changed.

Terrorist attacks, such as of 9/11, contain many lessons for us. One of the most important of them is the realisation that our complex, modern and open societies are eminently vulnerable to terrorist attacks. On 9/11, apart from the appalling loss of lives, the attacks against the World Trade Centre also affected transport (destruction of subway stations below the centre), telecommunications, and trading – to name but a few. For those focusing on the events themselves, this was not that obvious – but the attacks did not only result in mass casualties, but also in mass disruption – of critical infrastructure.

The module is designed to be studied over fours weeks:

Week 1: Get introduced to the concept of critical infrastructure protection. Get an overview of government measures currently employed nationally and supra-nationally in the US, the UK and the European Union.

Week 2: Understand current approaches to risk assessment and risk management strategies, and discuss related concepts such as criticality, vulnerability, threat, prioritization on the one hand and protection as well as consequence mitigation on the other. 

Week 3: Deepen your knowledge and understanding of the key concepts by applying them to several case studies. Gain an insight into the complex and interdependent nature of CI, and understand the implications for CI protection.

Week 4: Learn to think critically by discussing the “protection versus resilience” question, and by discussing possible future threats to CI.

Study modules individually or as part of the Certificate in Terrorism Studies.

Download the full Certificate in Terrorism Studies prospectus here

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