Planning Homeland Defense: No Infrastructure's An Island.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)

Byline: Donna Howell

Don't tell Phillip Lacombe to be careful, given the events of September. The retired Air Force colonel already knows a thing or two about the need.

Lacombe directed the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection in the late 1990s. He now runs a division of Veridian Corp. It's a computer security firm engaged in much government work.

In his commission role, Lacombe was principal author of a report that led to Presidential Decision Directive 63. That set policy on how the country should prepare for attacks on critical systems -- such as power, water and phone systems, and the Internet.

What Lacombe learned is that no man, and no system, is an island. What affects one thing affects another. The domino effect appeared in the recent terrorist assaults on the U.S.

Lacombe spoke with Investor's Business Daily about protecting the nation from new, and networked, threats.

IBD: Americans are hearing a new term -- homeland defense. Is that the same as the older term, critical infrastructure protection?