NCJ Number
182960
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 67 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2000 Pages: 56-60
Editor(s)
Charles E. Higginbotham
Date Published
2000
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), created by the U.S. Attorney General in 1998, addresses the growing threat of illicit computer activity, particularly as it affects critical national infrastructure.
Abstract
The NIPC's mission is to detect, deter, prevent, assess, warn against, respond to, and investigate illegal acts involving computer and information technologies, both physical and cybernetic, that threaten or target critical infrastructure. An Executive Order signed in 1996 identifies critical infrastructure sectors as telecommunications, transportation, electric power, banking and finance, gas and oil storage and delivery, water supply, emergency services, and government services. The NIPC includes representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, other Federal agencies, state, and local law enforcement, and private industry. The NIPC is organized into three sections: Computer Investigations and Operations Section; Analysis and Warning Section; and Training, Outreach, and Strategy Section. Technological vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure are addressed, as well as threats to critical infrastructure, and the role of State and law enforcement agencies in the NIPC is discussed. 3 footnotes