Zazi Forum

Financial, Energy and Resources Management Systems

Zazi Forum Fellows have extensive senior-level experience in the operational and financial management, and in the technical requirements of corporations that depend on the integrity and usefulness of their energy, financial or resources management systems. The term resources management systems is used here in a broad context. This context and experience extends to include categories of capability, such as: finance and accounting systems; human resources and labor management; communications and information systems; transportation; natural resources; utilities and energy services; and multi-component products and general services provisioning.

This experience is not only relevant to technologically dependent, large-scale enterprises, but it is becoming important as a functionally interdependent component of our national and inter-national defense strategy in the age of terrorism. Not only must we seek to advance our capabilities, efficiencies, and competitive advantage in all of these foundational categories, we must now be prepared to view them from an inter-dependent security perspective. As more than one scientist and defense intellectual has observed, these categories of capability are a large part of the tangible infrastructure and substrate that maintain our way of life and differentiate the modern world from the world of dictatorial fiefdoms. Just as our institutions of secular government, democratic elections, legal rights, due process, popular education, and free speech differentiate us culturally; it is our infrastructure and substrate that enables the fullest unfolding our culture’s potential, and one of the logical multi-component features of our system that is most obviously vulnerable to attack.

Zazi Forum Fellows have the unique operational and financial experience and perspective to be able to integrate the needs of commerce with the needs of security as we plunge into the new requirements dictated by the events of last year. It is now evident that both commercial advantage and threat denial, detection, and avoidance have to be designed into systems that serve these capability areas, in a way that was most likely inconceivable just a few months ago.

Zazi Forum Fellows have been actively concerned about the vulnerabilities of these increasingly interdependent systems. These systems that serve the multiplexes of corporations in our global economy might well be the next target most easily exploited by an intelligent determined enemy. Cyber-security, as well as physical security, must imitate the countermeasures used in defense if our systems are to be secure. The need for interoperability, the easy exchange of information, and free, almost unrestricted access, has brought with it some practices that may well be the “Achilles heel” of our infrastructure support systems – both form a information/communications as well as a physical asset perspective.

This is a problem best understood by those with experience in the commercial domains involved, but also those who have worked in or have interacted with those who understand security and countermeasures from a more proactive, technical, and operational defense and national security perspective. Zazi Forum Fellows have this experiential base and are extremely interested in investigating issues is this arena and recommending practical solutions.