Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources

What are they and what are we doing in the Kansas City
bi-state metro area to protect them?

Critical Infrastructure — Assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such assets, systems, or networks would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, public health or safety, or any combination of those matters.

Key Resources — Publicly or privately controlled resources essential to the minimal operations of the economy and government.

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 provides the primary authority for the overall homeland security mission. This act charged the Department of Homeland Security with primary responsibility for developing a comprehensive national plan to secure Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) and recommend "the measures necessary to protect the key resources and critical infrastructure of the United States."

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7) established U.S. policy for enhancing CIKR protection by establishing a framework for National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) partners to identify, prioritize, and protect the nation's CIKR from terrorist attacks.

The KCTEW takes an "all crimes" approach. Analysis of incoming information to the TEW is received from a number of sources including governmental agencies and the private/public sector. The TEW not only provides terrorism intelligence data but also information pertaining to all crimes occurring in the metropolitan area.

While the Department of Homeland Security has been tasked to identify, prioritize, and protect critical assets and resources on a national scale, KCTEW is working towards accomplishing the same tasks at the regional level.

The CIKR section has been added to increase the baseline capabilities of the TEW as we continue to provide and enhance the Kansas City region with analytical and response "tools" in times of critical incidents.

Our website now includes specific information relative to CIKR and the Asset Protection and Response System (APRS).

The Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) section provides a link to the Department of Homeland Security with detailed information on each of the 18 sectors.

APRS is designed to be a pre-planning and vulnerability assessment tool which is intended to assist all first responders in times of a critical incident. Information collected for the APRS program, while detailed and specific in many areas, also allows for everyday use by first responders. Pre-planned responses to an asset site during the time of a critical incident may also prove to be beneficial to first responders during a crime in progress or even a weather-related circumstance.

There is an online application which allows you to contact us and request additional information on the APRS system. After consulting with the CIKR Coordinator, it may be determined your site is eligible to participate as a regional CIKR asset.