Towards Risk Assessment of Critical Infrastructures: Experiences Gained from Quasi Real-Time Vulnerability Assessment of the Transportation of Dangerous Substances by Road

Abstract

Past and recent terrorist attacks have put into question the vulnerability of our society to the terrorist threat. The European citizen has questioned the ability of the Institutions to ensure an adequate and balanced level of security over the territory. In October 2004, the European Commission, prompted by the European Council and an increasing public concern over security, issued a communication on "Critical Infrastructure Protection in the Fight against Terrorism"; to undertake a challenging European Programme to Protect Critical Infrastructures and other European key assets against the threat posed by terrorism and other negative intentional acts, in close cooperation with Member States and other stakeholders. But as not all infrastructures can be protected from all threats, harmonized methods, inspired by risk management techniques, are needed to address, in a single comprehensive security management model, the existing and emerging threats to critical infrastructures, their vulnerability and criticality, and the defense layers and other cost-effective protective measures that can be implemented. This paper highlights the aspects to address in order to apply risk analysis techniques to the analysis of social vulnerability against critical infrastructure disruptions. In particular, it reports on the experience gained during the implementation of SIMAGE's Transportation Pilot system. Notably, the Transport sector is one category of Critical Infrastructure that has been repeatedly the target of terrorist actions. Consequently, Transport has to guarantee an elevated level of protection and security. Moreover, it is especially important for the case of the transport of dangerous substances, where the nature of the shipment can be exploited by terrorists to disrupt or destroy other critical infrastructures.