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Critical Internet infrastructure is a collective term for all hardware and software systems that constitute essential components in the operation of the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
.
Background
Several studies and events have helped to define the scope of critical Internet infrastructure. In August 2013, Internet infrastructure experts including Yuval Shavitt,
Bill Woodcock
Bill Woodcock (born August 16, 1971 in San Francisco, California, United States) is the executive director of Packet Clearing House, the international organization responsible for providing operational support and security to critical Internet ...
, Rossella Mattioli, Thomas Haeberlen, Ethan Katz-Bassett and Roland Dobbins convened for six days at
Schloss Dagstuhl to refine the academic and policy understanding of critical Internet infrastructure, producing a number of papers in the process.
In 2017, the
Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace
The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace was a multistakeholder Internet governance organization, dedicated to the creation of diplomatic norms of governmental non-aggression in cyberspace. It operated for three years, from 2017 ...
undertook a global survey of Internet infrastructure experts in order to assess the degree of consensus on what constituted critical Internet infrastructure, producing a ''
Definition of the Public Core'' which has since been used by the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
and others as a standardized description of the principal elements of Internet critical infrastructure.
In addition to these globally-applicable findings, nationally-specific definitions have been made by individual governments, for example by the US
Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
in 2006
and the US
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
in 2013.
GCSC definition
The report of the GCSC Critical Infrastructure Assessment Working Group has summarized the results of their survey in a comprehensive definition of Critical Internet infrastructure, which includes the following elements:
* Packet routing and forwarding
* Naming and numbering systems
* Security and identity protection
* Physical transmission media
See also
*
Critical infrastructure
Critical infrastructure (or critical national infrastructure (CNI) in the UK) is a term used by governments to describe assets that are essential for the functioning of a society and economy – the infrastructure. Most commonly associated wi ...
*
Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace
The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace was a multistakeholder Internet governance organization, dedicated to the creation of diplomatic norms of governmental non-aggression in cyberspace. It operated for three years, from 2017 ...
References
{{reflist
Internet terminology
Internet architecture