CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE IN MODERN SOCIETIES – PROTECTION, SAFETY, SECURITY

Abstract

Abstract: Nowadays, the modern security environment has it foundation based on some vital pilons, that are also important for the normal functionality of the modern society. This paper will offer a new perspective on critical infrastructure protection, defining the relationships that take place freely in a modern society. The international security could be analyzed from functional (systemic) and structural points of view. From the systemic point of view, the global security is characterized by five major systems: political, economic, social (socio-demographic), cultural and ecological. From the structural point of view, besides the above systems there are other ones: military, intelligence, communications and infrastructure (the critical infrastructure, health, financial, culture, education and research). There are certain infrastructures such as: telecommunications, transports, systems of power or water supply, IT systems, diverse systems and emergency services, that are actually fundamental to a prosperous economy and therefore critical to the development of human society. Telecommunications, power systems and transport infrastructures are essential infrastructures that ensure not only the mobility, but also the adequate performance of the armed forces, which is one more reason for which these infrastructures are critical. The degree of development and resilience of national and European critical infrastructures is essential for the economic growth and for ensuring the security and welfare of society on the whole. Therefore, the modern national security, seen as a system or a structure, has been passing through a reform and modernization process in order to adapt to the challenges of the 21st Century and the requirements triggered by North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Union memberships, and not only. In this context there is a need for some security politics and strategy which could increase the national security condition.