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Type Conference Presentation
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Emerging Risks in Information Infrastructures – A Technology Assessment Perspective
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Lorenz Hilty
Presentation Type lecture
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Event Title IDRC 2008, International Disaster and Risk Conference
Event Type conference
Event Location Davos, Switzerland
Event Start Date August 26 - 2008
Event End Date August 30 - 2008
Abstract Text Technology Assessment (TA) is a field of study which systematically analyses and evaluates the potential positive and negative impacts of introducing and applying technologies, identifies areas of social conflict created by applications and gives recommendations for improving the technologies and their terms of application (ITAS, n.d.). Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP) aims to ensure that critical information infrastructures “are less vulnerable to disruptions, any impairment is short in duration and limited in scale, and services are readily restored when disruptions occur.” (Juster and Tritak, 2002, p. 12). This paper presents a TA perspective on issues of CIIP. It shows how risks emerging from critical information infrastructures can be assessed at a very early stage of technological development. The typical TA approach takes a precautionary position here, whereas the CIIP approach tends to be preventive and reactive. The main thesis of this paper is that the two fields can learn from each other: TA studies in the field of ICT can benefit from the CIIP-specific focus on vulnerabilities, and CIIP can benefit from the prospective, scenario-based TA approach which focuses on the interaction between technology and society, providing a comprehensive view of technological risk.
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Official URL http://www.idrc.info/pages_new.php/Davos-2008/565/1/527/
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