Security

Security, in the context of the National ITS Architecture, is to protect the surface transportation information and infrastructure. The focus of the security update to the National ITS Architecture is the security services or mechanisms that meet this high-level objective.

Although previous versions of the National ITS Architecture addressed some areas of ITS security (e.g., Traveler Security), it was felt that a comprehensive ITS security review and update to the National ITS Architecture would be beneficial for protecting surface transportation. Surface transportation is now, more than ever, relying on information technologies to sense, collect, process and disseminate information to improve the efficiency of moving goods and people, improve the safety of our transportation system and provide travel alternatives.

Security is represented in the National ITS Architecture in two ways:

1. Securing ITS: ITS is an information system in its own right that must be protected so that ITS applications are reliable and available when they are needed. This aspect of security applies to all the subsystems and architecture flows in the National ITS Architecture. "Securing ITS" is shown as the foundation since the ITS systems must be secure before ITS can reliably be used to improve the security of the surface transportation system.
   
   
2. ITS Security Areas: ITS can be used to enhance the security of the surface transportation system. Eight security areas define the ways that ITS can be used to detect, respond to, and recover from threats against the surface transportation system. These eight ITS security areas are shown at the top of the figure below, supported by the "Securing ITS" security services that make ITS secure. Specific subsystems, architecture flows, market packages, and supporting physical and logical architecture definitions have been defined for each ITS security area.

Consider a transit surveillance system that includes CCTV cameras and a control center to illustrate these two views of security. From one perspective, we need to make sure that the cameras can only be controlled by the control center, that they can't easily be taken off-line, and that any sensitive images that may be collected are protected from unauthorized disclosure. These are all considerations associated with securing the transit surveillance system and are addressed as part of "Securing ITS". From another perspective, the transit surveillance system is an ITS system that provides both a deterrent and a response tool that improves the security of the transportation system. This view of the transit surveillance system is defined in one of the eight security areas ("Transit Security").