Volume 10
The Department of Homeland Security defines terrorism as any activity involving an act that is “ dangerous to human life or potentially disruptive of critical infrastructure or key resources .”
By this definition , the Metcalf attack was a double act of terrorism . Such classification may or may not deter wouldbe thieves or saboteurs depending on their determination , knowledge and speed , but the development of systems to continuously monitor access points and help protect the security of vital infrastructures located underground has not kept pace with the expansion of such infrastructures themselves .
If a well-coordinated attack on these systems were to occur again today , how quickly would we know the location ? What if we could identify , in less than five seconds after it occurred , exactly which manhole cover was disturbed ? Given this capability , might the Metcalf event have turned out differently ?
Manhole covers and similar access points related to this infrastructure have proven to be a source of significant vulnerability , and many malicious acts such as vandalism , material theft , and even terrorism have occurred due to ease of access through manholes that generally are unprotected .
Thieves often enter manholes to cut power cables in order to steal metals to be sold for scrap . For these efforts , they may gain a few hundred dollars from a scrap yard , while causing thousands of dollars ’ worth of damage and the loss of critical public safety services , power , and telecommunications to nearby industry , the surrounding community and its citizens .
Electrical utility manhole cover
Feb 2017 Edition
Utility companies , telecom providers , and municipalities are increasingly installing cabling and other components of their physical infrastructures underground .
Power is carried over metal cables , but most data and telecommunications infrastructures utilize fiber optics , and these vital links commonly pass through underground vaults . The data and telecom traffic carried on these lines is sensitive at a minimum , and the access points to such lines need to be secured to help maintain both the integrity of this vital infrastructure and the security of the information carried by it .
Although the jacket of a fiber optic cable may appear virtually identical to a cable containing copper wires , a thief in a hurry may not distinguish between the two ; and as the following account illustrates , metal theft may not be the only motivation for lifting a utility vault cover .
Soft targets Literally hundreds of thousands ( if not millions ) of manholes around our nation give easy access for a physical attack against vital components of our infrastructure , and the Metcalf attack demonstrates this easy access .
In addition to access points for vital components of our national infrastructure , manholes in and around city centers , stadiums , coliseums , hospitals , campuses , government agencies or similar public venues where large numbers of people gather at one time may also be points of vulnerability .
The Need
A safe and durable means of continuously monitoring the position of manhole or vault covers , in order to detect when they are opened
23