President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection

PCCIP Atlanta Public Meeting

This page presents documents relating to the 18 April 1997 Public Meeting of the PCCIP in Atlanta, Georgia. You may read read a post-meeting press release, view some photos related to the Commission's outreach activities in Georgia, or download and read the entire transcript of the event.

Post-Meeting Press Release

Atlanta -- Business leaders and local officials testified at a public meeting at the Atlanta INFORUM conducted by President Clinton's recently-designated President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection (PCCIP).

Mayor Bill Campbell, who co-hosted the event with Senator Sam Nunn, welcomed the participants saying, "We are honored to have been selected as one of only five cities where the Commission will gather information vital to the security of our national infrastructure."

"Critical infrastructures are America's life support system," said Chairman Robert T. "Tom" Marsh, outlining the need for the Commission. "These systems rely on new technologies to increase efficiency -- but with increased risk."

Testifying at the event was U.S. Attorney Kent Alexander, known for his work prosecuting North Georgia militias. Also testifying were Georgia Tech President Dr. G. Wayne Clough, representatives from GEMA, Cox Enterprises, King and Spalding, Atlanta Gas Light, the Georgia PSC, and Valujet, among others.

The Commission was created to examine eight infrastructures crucial to the nation's security and explore their vulnerabilities to physical and cyber threats.

Infrastructures considered crucial are telecommunication, transportation, electrical power, oil and gas delivery and storage, banking and finance, water supply systems, emergency services, such as medical and police and the continuity of government services.

Marsh said these systems are vulnerable to disruption through both physical and cyber attacks. "Attacks have the potential to put our economy, public safety and military readiness at risk in new and potentially far reaching ways," said Marsh. "These attacks impact everything from an individual's privacy to an industry's ability to compete. Everyone is affected by America's infrastructures and everyone needs to take part in assuring their future."

Mayor Campbell drew on Atlanta's recent experiences with the Olympics and acts of domestic terrorism, "Our increasing reliance on telecommunications and information technology only heightens our vulnerability as we now must protect ourselves from cyber threats as well as physical threats. We must be aware that today's terrorist can do more with a laptop than with a bomb."

After gathering information from corporate leaders and conducting a series of public meetings across the country, the Commission will make recommendations to President Clinton on national policy that will best assure the safety and protection of the nation's critical infrastructures.

The Commissioners in Atlanta

Transcript of the Atlanta Public Meeting

The PCCIP is pleased to be able to make available a transcript of its Atlanta Public Meeting; this transcript is a record of the testimony that the Commissioners heard on that day. You may download an electronic copy of the 65-page transcript for browsing or printing on your own computer (Adobe Acrobat 3.0 format; file approximately 187 kilobytes in size).

Technical Note: This transcript requires Version 3.0 (or later) of the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you may download from the Adobe Systems, Inc. Web site. This software is available for a wide variety of computer platforms and is distributed free of charge.