SPAIN: CI/KR RESPONSE FOR S/CT

UNCLAS MADRID 000180 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR S/CT (GAIL ROBERTSON) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC ECON PTER PREL PGOV ETTC EAID EAGER EFIN SP SUBJECT: SPAIN: CI/KR RESPONSE FOR S/CT REF: STATE 6461 ¶1. (SBU) Per REFTEL, Embassy Madrid's Counterterrorism Working Group has collectively taken inventory of Spain's critical infrastructure and key resources and does not believe that the country possesses any CI/KR that, if destroyed, disrupted, or exploited, would have an immediate and deleterious effect on the United States. Since the Madrid train bombings of March 11, 2004, the Spanish government has taken steps to better defend itself against a future terrorist attack. In recent months, critical infrastructure protection, both physical and cyber, has become a priority interest for the GOS with the establishment of a national center to assess and protect critical infrastructure. Under the auspices of the Spanish Ministry of Interior's Secretary of State for Security, the Spanish government created in late 2007 the National Center of Critical Infrastructure Protection (Centro Nacional de Proteccion de Infraestructuras Criticas - CNPIC). The center's director is Fernando Sanchez Gomez, a former Civil Guard officer with over 20 years of experience. ¶2. (SBU) According to an internal CNPIC document provided to the Embassy, the center's mandate includes: -- Maintaining and updating the GOS' Plan for Critical Infrastructure Security and National Catalog of Strategic Infrastructure -- Gathering, analyzing, integrating and evaluating information from public institutions, police departments, strategic sectors and international cooperation -- Providing threat assessments on and risk analysis of strategic installations -- Creating a mechanism for information sharing, streamlined communications, and alert warnings -- Command and control support through an Operations Room when triggered by an alert -- Establishing a national point of contact within the European Program for Critical Infrastructure Protection ¶3. (SBU) CNPIC officials told us their nascent center currently has a few knowledge gaps, including how to best collaborate and interact with the private sector, and how to integrate the protection of both physical security and cyber security into a single entity. They asked for our assistance in arranging an official visit to Washington to learn first hand from elements of the Department of Homeland Security how our CI protection has evolved in recent years. A small group of Spanish technical experts will travel to the U.S. during the week of February 18 to meet with a variety of officials tasked with protecting U.S. critical infrastructure. The group is scheduled to meet with DHS' Center for Infrastructure Protection and visit TSA's Freedom Center. Embassy Madrid appreciates DHS' efforts to organize this visit and to educate our Spanish counterparts on critical infrastructure protection. Post will report further as the CNPIC carries out its mandate. AGUIRRE