On 08.01.2004 12:10 Hank Nussbacher <hank@att.net.il> wrote:

At 11:01 AM 08-01-04 +0000, Michael.Dillon@radianz.com wrote:

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People seem to be confused about the meaning of "critical

infrastructure"

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so I decided to see what Google has to say. The first thing it comes up with is an American government organization called the Department for Homeland Security. On their question and answer page they say this: http://www.ciao.gov/publicaffairs/qsandas.htm

1.) What is a critical infrastructure?

The USA Patriot Act defines critical infrastructures as those "systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters."

Why should Europe and the RIPE region care about what the US defines as critical infrastructure?

Because it is not only a US-centric view of the Internet. Most governments (at least the German which I know best and most other Europeans) have started to make their own definitions about what they define as critical to their national infrastructure. And they are asking questions how these infrastructure is protected. But I tend to agree that it is maybe better if we find a more neutral wording. Sabine

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Es gibt Luegen, verdammte Luegen und RIPE-141(-219)-Netzantraege.

Translated: There are lies, damned lies and RIPE-141 request forms.

It is RIPE-219. RIPE-141 is dead.

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--Michael Dillon

-Hank

Viele Grüße Sabine Dolderer -- Sabine Dolderer DENIC eG Wiesenhüttenplatz 26 D-60329 Frankfurt eMail: Sabine.Dolderer@denic.de Fon: +49 69 27235 0 Fax: +49 69 27235 235