A management approach to securing geospatial information systems

Geographic information has and will always play a vital role in the complex process of human progress. Traditionally, this information in the form of maps has been thesource of both knowledge and power, providing the details from which the decisions that defined national boundaries and economic empires were made. Today, through the development of information technologies, we have the ability to produce electronic maps that contain vast amounts of geospatial information.On 11th September 2001, the world became a different place not only in the United States, but also in nations around the globe. Coupled with the ensuing Bali bombings in Indonesia a year later and the bombings in the United Kingdom in 2005 a key message is that despite Australia's relative isolation from the rest of the world, it is vulnerable in terms of its critical infrastructure.Because all details about this critical infrastructure are stored in geospatial information systems found in both the public (Federal, State & Local) and the private sector, it is imperative that some form of information security is applied to protect these assets. This paper reviews the application of information security in this critical area.