Assessing Vulnerabilities - Principles of Emergency Management - page 182

Criticality Criteria (Impacts of Loss)
− What would the energy facility lose if an adversary obtained control of a
specific asset?
− What affects would be expected if a specific asset were compromised?
− Is the asset still valuable to the energy facility once an adversary has it?
− What is the potential for immediate and significant local impacts due to
the loss of the asset?
− What is the potential for loss of energy supply to civilian areas?
− What facility personnel, tenants, customers, and visitors could be affected
by the loss of the asset?
− What would be the impact on people's lives and on national or local secu-
rity due to the loss of the asset?
− What would be the financial impacts to the energy facility and the local
community?
Criticality Criteria (Asset Value)
− Is there little or no redundant capacity or capability to mitigate the loss
of the asset?
− What is the potential for cascading effects (e.g., to other interdependent
infrastructures or industries) due to the loss of the asset?
− Do any special situations need to be considered regarding the loss of the
asset, such as the status of hospitals, life support systems, or emergency
services that depend on the energy infrastructure supported by the asset?
− What is the potential for catastrophic effects (weapons of mass destruc-
tion levels impact)?
− What did it cost to develop the asset?
− Would the energy facility need an extended period to make repairs to the
asset?
− How does the need for protecting the asset compare with other assets also
considered critical?
Once the assets critical to the operation of the energy facility have been identi-
fied and characterized, an impact assessment must be carried out to describe the
consequences of losses if an undesirable event occurs. The degree of impact should
be quantified by using a relative impact or criticality rating criteria and a consistent
rating scale. (An example of a scale for rating criteria is presented in Step 5.) The
assets are then ranked in terms of criticality.
Step 2: Identify What Protects and Supports the Critical Assets
The existing protection of critical assets provided by the physical security system and
the dependence of the critical assets on both external and internal infrastructures