Security convergence and critical infrastructure protection in Europe: findings from a criminological literature review

• In Event: Cybercrime Working Group - Responses to cybercrime 1

Abstract

Converged security is defined by the US government as the ‘formal collaboration between previously disjointed security functions’. The concept reflects how technological advancements, including Internet of Things applications, are increasingly linking organisations’ physical and cyber assets so that security measures must address increasingly complex, interconnected and cascading threats. This is identified as an especially pressing issue in the protection of critical national infrastructure.

This presentation will present findings from a literature review on converged security, forming part of ongoing research at the intersection of security risk management, criminology and psychology. It will examine the emergence and development of converged security thinking, the growing focus on cyber resilience of critical infrastructure through the EU’s NIS Directive and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the security challenges associated with accelerating technological advancement and complexity.

Authors

• Alison Wakefield, University of West London

• Cody Normitta Porter, UWE Bristol

• Louisa Schneller, Independent