MSc Critical Infrastructure Security

With the constant threat of terrorism; the growth of cyber-crime and the prevalence of activism, it is really important to ensure that our infrastructures are protected from attack, disruption and damage. Maintaining that protection is challenging and requires those engaged in the analysis, planning and management of it to be highly capable and knowledgeable. The MSc Critical Infrastructure programme is designed to develop high-level capability and knowledge in professionals responsible for CI protection.

Critical Infrastructure supports all societies and encompasses the ‘facilities, systems, sites, information, people, networks and processes, necessary for a country to function and upon which daily life depends. It also includes some functions, sites and organisations which are not critical to the maintenance of essential services, but which need protection due to the potential danger to the public (civil nuclear and chemical sites for example).’(UK Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure – CPNI). Whilst different countries may identify the infrastructure sectors in different ways, all of them will be deemed fundamental to the maintenance of societal stability.

The UK government’s official definition of CNI is:

‘Those critical elements of national infrastructure (facilities, systems, sites, property, information, people, networks and processes), the loss or compromise of which would result in a major detrimental impact on the availability, delivery or integrity of essential services, leading to severe economic or social consequences or to loss of life.’

Critical infrastructure incorporates chemical, nuclear, commercial facilities, communications, critical manufacturing, defence and associated industrial base, emergency services, energy, food and agriculture, financial services, government facilities, healthcare and public health, information technology, transportation systems, water and wastewater systems.