## 2 Critical Infrastructures
### Critical Infrastructure Sectors
Financial institutions vary in size and scope, ranging from massive global corporations with extensive assets and thousands of employees to community banks and credit unions serving specific localities with a smaller workforce. These financial entities offer a wide array of products that cater to customers' needs, such as individual savings accounts, financial derivatives, credit for large organizations, and investments in foreign countries. These products enable customers to perform various financial activities, including depositing funds, making payments, providing credit and liquidity, investing for short or long terms, and transferring financial risks between parties. * Government/Public Administration  
This sector refers to the entities responsible for governing and managing essential government services and functions. These entities are vital in ensuring the smooth operation and continuity of various government processes and services that are critical to the functioning of a society and the well-being of its citizens. Public administration plays a crucial role in maintaining law and order, providing public services, managing public resources, and making policy decisions that impact the overall functioning of a country or region. In times of crisis or emergencies, the public administration sector becomes even more critical, as it coordinates disaster response efforts, ensures public safety, and implements contingency plans to minimize the impact of disruptive events on society. Figure 1: Core sectors of critical infrastructure. * Telecommunications  
Over the years, the telecommunications sector has undergone a significant transformation, evolving from traditional voice services to a multifaceted and interconnected industry. It now encompasses a broad range of services, including data transmission, internet connectivity, mobile and fixed telecommunications, satellite communication, broadcasting, and more. This diversity ensures that businesses, governments, and individuals can access and utilize critical services, contributing to economic growth and societal development. As a critical infrastructure sector, telecommunication plays a significant role in supporting other sectors' operations. It provides essential services that enable the smooth functioning of transportation systems, energy distribution networks, emergency services, healthcare facilities, financial institutions, and public administration, among others. The sector serves as a lifeline during emergencies, enabling coordination among first responders, disseminating vital information to the public, and facilitating disaster response efforts. * Emergency/Rescue Services  
The emergency services sector comprises a vast network of skilled and trained personnel dedicated to offering a wide range of prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery services in various situations. This community operates during routine activities and emergencies alike. The emergency services sector encompasses numerous facilities and equipment, involving both paid professionals and volunteers, organized primarily at federal, state, local, and government levels. The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, civil protection authorities, police, fire, ambulance, paramedic, and emergency medicine services, as well as specialized emergency units of organizations providing electricity, transportation, communications, and other related services, all fall under the category of emergency services. * Energy  
The energy sector plays a pivotal role in critical infrastructures worldwide. Its protection is paramount to ensure a stable and continuous energy supply, essential for the functioning of various sectors and the overall well-being of nations. The sector is composed of three interconnected segments: electricity, oil, and natural gas. The electricity segment comprises a vast network of power plants, with a mix of coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydroelectric, oil, and renewable sources.