Infrastructure security

Protective security advice for the UK’s national infrastructure

The Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, (CPNI), is the government authority for protective security advice for the UK’s national infrastructure. Their primary role is to protect national security through means of helping to reduce the vulnerability of the national infrastructure from terrorism and other threats. As well as obvious areas of critical danger, less urgent but still vulnerable assets and events such as high-profile landmarks or iconic targets are also protected by the CPNI indirectly, through advice and damage protection. The CPNI is impacted by a range of government policies such as the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Risk Register and the Counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST).

CONTEST aims to reduce risks of international terrorism, allowing individuals and businesses to continue with ease. This strategy is divided into four principal strands: Prevent, Pursue, Protect and Prepare. The CPNI’s work falls within the ‘Protect’ strand, which is concerned with reducing the vulnerability of the UK and UK interests overseas to a terrorist attack. CPNI’s protection work covers facilities, sites, information, people, systems, network and processes under the blanket of “infrastructure”. Everything upon which daily life depends on and requires protection due to the potential danger of UK citizens is included in National Infrastructure, yet all is not “critical”.