Speaker Series: Our Communications Infrastructure: Risks, Resilience & Security

Chatham Marconi Welcomes Prof. Ronald Bearse to its Speaker Series

Has your Internet service, favorite mobile app, or important government website gone down lately?  Our interconnected society is increasingly vulnerable to both cyber attacks and vandalism.  Ronald S. Bearse will speak on the topic of strengthening the security and resilience of our national communications infrastructure.  Bearse is an expert with over two decades of experience in critical infrastructure protection (CIP) and national security emergency preparedness, and the founder and president of Ronald Bearse Global Associates, Inc. which supplies confidential advice and counsel to industry and government.  He is also an Adjunct Professor of Emergency Management & Homeland Security at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and Academic Advisor to NATO’s Center of Excellence for the Defense Against Terrorism specializing in security and resilience against terrorist attacks.  

Further information about the topic:  

In the twentieth century, threats to critical infrastructure, such as communications, were almost exclusively tangible, physical threats which could be countered with tangible, physical defenses. Those kinds of tangible, physical threats continue today—as do natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, and wildfires— and they can cause serious harm to people and nations. In the twenty-first century, however, critical infrastructure has become increasingly connected to the Internet. This increased connectivity is cause for global concern because much of the critical infrastructure that nations rely on for health, power, and security are susceptible to cyber threats. Attackers can now use virtual control systems to deliver physical threats or make virtual threats to physical infrastructure. This combination of virtual and physical threats is growing exponentially, especially as virtual connections to physical infrastructure via the Internet of Things become increasingly mainstream. Such attacks will become more common and are likely to be more destructive. Beyond continuing to invest in the latest technology to help fend off these threats, having a strong CISR posture will minimize the impact of these attacks and make targets inherently less valuable from the adversary’s perspective.

_______________________________