Introduction: Terrorism as a threat to open societies

Abstract

In the introduction, I offer an overview of the book and the issues discussed in it. I introduce the individual chapters, but also familiarize readers with the basics of risk assessment and risk management as parts of the field of Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP). In particular, I briefly talk about criticality, vulnerability, and threat, to then address questions on how to manage or mitigate risks posed by terrorism. In that regard, I highlight the role of technology in countering this threat and its relevance for both CIP and Critical Infrastructure Resilience (CIR). In a nutshell, the introduction aims at firmly anchoring the book in the field of CIP/CIR in order to give it a shelf life that goes beyond the current threat posed by Al Qaeda and ISIS/Daesh.