1996 Congressional Hearings
Intelligence and Security

I. THE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE

A- Defining the National Information Infrastructure ("NII")

The Staffs investigation has focused on threats to the National Information Infrastructure (the "NII") and the potential impact of such threats on the United States infrastructure as a whole. In examining this issue the Staff adopted certain widely accepted definitions. The NII refers to that system of advanced computer systems, databases, and telecommunications networks throughout the United States that make electronic information widely available and accessible.¹ This includes the Internet, the

¹ This is the definition used by the National Information Infrastructure Security Issues Forum. The Forum is a part of the Information Infrastructure Task Force which was formed by Vice President Gore to articulate and implement the Administration's vision for the NII. A glossary of definitions related to this Report is appended as Appendix A

public switched network, and cable, wireless, and satellite communications. The National Information Infrastructure is merely a subset of what has become known as the Global Information Infrastructure (the "GII").

References to the United States infrastructure includes those systems and facilities comprising identifiable institutions and industries that provide a continual flow of goods and services essential to the defense and economic security of the United States, the functioning of government at all levels, and the well-being of society as a whole.² This includes telecommunications, energy, medical, transportation, and financial systems, as well as government operations and national defense.

B. Our Dependency on the NII

Our society is extremely dependent on both the NII and the GII at almost every level of daily life -- individual, commercial and governmental. Consider the following:

• Our communications, whether via telephones, fax machines, pagers, or cellular telephones increasingly rely on the NII as providers are replacing their analog switches with computer dependent digital switches.

• Much of the way money is accounted for, handled, and exchanged is now done via the NII. Salaries are directly deposited into bank accounts by electronic funds transfers. Automated teller machines ("ATMs") deposit funds, withdraw funds, and make payments. When payment is made for merchandise with debit cards and credit cards, transactions are verified using the public switched network.

² This is the definition used by the Critical Infrastructure Working Group (the "CIWG"), chaired by Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick. The CIWG was tasked under Presidential Decision Direction 39 with identifying and assessing threats against the critical national infrastructure and proposing both interim and long-term options for preventing and responding to such threats.

• Much of our national economy also depends on the NII. The vast majority of transactions conducted by banks and other financial institutions are done via electronic funds transfers. For example, one major bank transfers approximately $600 billion electronically per day to the Federal Reserve. Over $2 trillion is sent in international wire transfers every day. In addition, most securities transactions are conducted via computerized systems.

• Health care is increasingly becoming dependent on electronic records as pharmacies and hospitals maintain computerized files containing their patients' medical profiles. Medical care is moving toward greater dependency on computer-based technologies; hospitals are testing the viability of "on line" remote medical diagnosis.

• Our civil aeronautics industry is reliant upon computers to fly and land airplanes; railway transportation is dependent upon computers to coordinate tracks and routes.

• Government operations are also heavily dependent on the NII. The government uses computerized systems to do everything from issuing Social Security checks to keeping track of criminal records. Within our national defense structure, over 95% of the military's communications utilize the public switched network. Many of the military's "precision" weapons depend on the Global Positioning System (the "GPS")³ for guidance. In addition, the military uses computerized systems to transmit data and information related to troop movements, procurement, maintenance and supplies.

In short, the United States infrastructure has increasingly come to rest on the pillars of the national and global information infrastructures. Should these pillars be weakened or seriously shaken, many of the critical functions of our society could come crashing down or experience significant damage.

As dependent as society is today on the information infrastructure, that dependence will only grow in the years to come. For example, the electronic exchange

³ The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based system utilizing ground transmitters and orbiting satellites to triangulate locations with pinpoint accuracy.

of messages ("e-mail") is becoming so common that it is challenging other forms of communication, including the facsimile, the telex, and even the postal service. The following charts illustrate the growth of what has become known as e-mail:

Electronic mailboxes 1993 total: 46.3 m

USA: 62%
Europe: 30%
Rest of World: 6%
Japan: 2%

The growth of electronic communications is spurred by the ever-increasing speed with which data can be transferred. The speed with which modems can transfer data has changed transmission time significantly. In 1980, a 300 bps (bits per second) modem required 160 minutes to transmit a book of approximately 200 pages; last year a commercially available 28.8 Kbps took less than two minutes to transfer the same book; today's 45 mbps modem speed provides for transmission of the same book over the Internet in .06 of a second. In just a decade, the speed has increased 160,000 times.

This, in turn, has led to a phenomenal growth of the Internet, one of the crucial elements of the information infrastructure. In 1969, the forerunner of the Internet started with just four major systems on what was essentially a single network. Today there are approximately 9.5 million hosts or major computer networks or systems. By the year 2000, the number of hosts is expected to reach 100,000,000.

This increased connectivity, and the enhanced communications that come with it, will no doubt increase the efficiency of the flow of goods, services, and ideas within our society. At the same time, however, this very same connectivity will also increase the vulnerability of our society to new forms of attack.