Critical Foundations: Protecting America's Infrastructures

In October 1997, the President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection issued a report titled Critical Foundations: Protecting America’s Infrastructures, which described the potentially devastating implications of poor information security for the nation. The report recommended measures to achieve a higher level of critical infrastructure protection that included industry cooperation and information sharing, a national organization structure, a revised program of research and development, a broad program of awareness and education, and a reconsideration of related laws.

It further stated that a comprehensive effort would need to “include a system of surveillance, assessment, early warning, and response mechanisms to mitigate the potential for cyberthreats.” The report also urged the FBI to continue its efforts to develop warning and threat analysis capabilities, which would enable it to serve as the preliminary national warning center for infrastructure attacks and to provide law enforcement, intelligence, and other information needed to ensure the highest quality analysis possible.