Addressing the Economics of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) Security

This paper pursues exploratory research questions addressing economics of critical national infrastructure (CNI) security. It proposes a framing of the problem to embrace the particular nature of the technological capability, within a market economy, and the complex nature of risk associated with CNI. Adopting a qualitative approach, the paper draws input from a range of stakeholders engaged through various methods. Some of the emerging themes include increasing state intervention in supply chains and technology standardisation by governments (driven by national security imperatives). Also, there is increasing scrutiny of investment and financing for market actors in this sector. The paper contributes towards foundational arguments and poses questions to foster ideas for diverse scientific communities across cyber-physical systems security, economics, supply chains, and finance and regulation.