Follow a dependency · Review draft

Sixteen sectors. Many connections.

Each example follows a service into one sector and then follows a service that sector provides to another. Arrows run from provider to user. These are selected, sourced examples; they do not describe every organization or every connection.

The examples supplement the dissertation's explanation of interconnection. They are educational illustrations drawn from official sector sources, not new findings from the study.

01 · Chemical

Make water safe to drink

Transportation SystemsProvides: Raw-material deliveries
Chemical
Water and Wastewater SystemsReceives: Treatment chemicals

Trucks, trains, and ships bring raw materials to chemical plants. These plants make chemicals that water systems use for treatment. A late shipment can affect more than one service.

Sources for these connections
  • CISA: Chemical Sector-Specific Plan (2015)

    Primary Cross-Sector Interdependencies: transportation carries incoming raw materials and finished chemicals; water systems depend on chemical products for purification and sanitation.

02 · Commercial Facilities

Turn a hotel into shelter

Water and Wastewater SystemsProvides: Water + sanitation
Commercial Facilities
Emergency ServicesReceives: Disaster shelter space

Hotels need clean water and a way to remove wastewater. During a disaster, some hotels and other buildings offer shelter space that emergency services can use.

Sources for these connections
  • CISA: Commercial Facilities Sector-Specific Plan (2010)

    Printed p. 10, Water and Emergency Services dependency rows: water supply and wastewater treatment support commercial buildings; emergency services use commercial facilities as shelters. Printed p. 88 specifies hotels and motels.

03 · Communications

Send a payment across town

EnergyProvides: Electricity
Communications
Financial ServicesReceives: Transaction messages

Phone and data networks need power. They carry payments between people, shops, and banks. A digital payment depends on both power and a working link.

Sources for these connections
  • CISA: Communications Systems

    Dependencies lists energy supplying electricity to communications facilities and communications carrying financial transactions and market operations.

04 · Critical Manufacturing

Build the vehicles that move us

ChemicalProvides: Process chemicals
Critical Manufacturing
Transportation SystemsReceives: Vehicles + parts

Factories use chemicals such as paints and solvents. Some make the vehicles and parts used on roads, railways, and in air travel. The trip begins with materials used on the factory floor.

Sources for these connections

05 · Dams

Deliver water to a farm

CommunicationsProvides: Remote monitoring
Dams
Food and AgricultureReceives: Irrigation water

Some dams use remote links for monitoring and control. Reservoirs can supply water to farms. A digital link can thus help manage the water used to grow food.

Sources for these connections
  • CISA: Dams Sector Profile (2019)

    Critical Sector Dependencies and Interdependencies, Communications and Food & Agriculture entries: telecommunications supports remote operation; dam assets provide crop irrigation.

06 · Defense Industrial Base

Equip a military installation

Critical ManufacturingProvides: Industrial components
Defense Industrial Base
Government Services and FacilitiesReceives: Military equipment

Defense firms use parts made by other industries to build and maintain military equipment. That equipment supports work at military bases, one part of the government sector.

Sources for these connections

07 · Emergency Services

Connect a call to hospital care

CommunicationsProvides: 911 calls + dispatch
Emergency Services
Healthcare and Public HealthReceives: Patient care + transport

Phone and radio networks carry calls for help and guide emergency crews. Emergency medical crews give care and can take patients to a hospital. The links matter from the first call to arrival.

Sources for these connections

08 · Energy

Keep a cell tower running

Transportation SystemsProvides: Fuel deliveries
Energy
CommunicationsReceives: Electricity

Railways, roads, waterways, and pipelines bring fuel to energy systems. The power they produce runs cell towers and other network sites. This is one supply path; energy sources and backup plans vary.

Sources for these connections

09 · Financial Services

Keeping purchases moving

CommunicationsProvides: Transaction messages
Financial Services
Food and AgricultureReceives: Financial services

Networks carry payments and other financial transactions. Banks and other financial firms support the businesses that grow, process, and sell our food.

Sources for these connections

10 · Food and Agriculture

From processing to the store

Water and Wastewater SystemsProvides: Processing water
Food and Agriculture
Commercial FacilitiesReceives: Food for sale

Food processors use water to make their products. The food they supply helps stock shops in the commercial sector. Trouble at a food plant can reach the store shelf.

Sources for these connections
  • Food and Agriculture Sector-Specific Plan (2015), p. 22

    The Water example describes municipal water used in food and ingredient processing. The Commercial Facilities example describes retail impacts from a food-sector disruption and food-sector reliance on commercial outlets.

11 · Government Services and Facilities

Keeping public services working

Information TechnologyProvides: Systems and software
Government Services and Facilities
Water and Wastewater SystemsReceives: Permits

Government offices use IT systems for daily work. Water utilities also need public services, such as permits. This link concerns both software and the permission needed to do the work.

Sources for these connections

12 · Healthcare and Public Health

Supplies in, care out

Transportation SystemsProvides: Medical supplies
Healthcare and Public Health
Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and WasteReceives: Workforce health

Health providers need transport to bring medical supplies. Health services also help protect nuclear workers from disease outbreaks. One sector supplies care for the people who run another.

Sources for these connections

13 · Information Technology

Delivering digital services

CommunicationsProvides: Service delivery links
Information Technology
Government Services and FacilitiesReceives: Systems and software

Phone and data networks help deliver IT services. Government offices use those tools for daily work, including financial transactions. Public services can depend on both networks and software.

Sources for these connections

14 · Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste

Nuclear materials in medicine

Transportation SystemsProvides: Material shipments
Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
Healthcare and Public HealthReceives: Medical isotopes

The nuclear sector needs transport to move nuclear and radioactive materials. Some of these materials go to health providers for tests and treatments. This example follows medical uses.

Sources for these connections
  • Nuclear Sector-Specific Plan (2015), pp. 11–12

    Transportation Systems entry on p. 11 describes shipments of nuclear and radioactive materials to sites or end users. Healthcare entry on p. 12 identifies medical imaging, monitoring, and treatment uses.

15 · Transportation Systems

Fuel keeps food moving

EnergyProvides: Diesel fuel
Transportation Systems
Food and AgricultureReceives: Freight delivery

Diesel powers many trucks and trains. They carry supplies to farms and move food to plants, shops, and consumers. A fuel shortage can affect the path that food takes to the table.

Sources for these connections
  • EIA: Use of diesel

    The sections on diesel's economic role and uses identify trucks, trains, boats, and barges that carry products using diesel fuel.

  • Food and Agriculture Sector-Specific Plan (2015), p. 22

    The transportation example identifies shipment of farm inputs and delivery of agricultural products through processing, distribution, retail, and consumers. The final can-affect sentence combines the two documented dependencies as an illustrative inference.

16 · Water and Wastewater Systems

Clean water supports patient care

ChemicalProvides: Treatment chemicals
Water and Wastewater Systems
Healthcare and Public HealthReceives: Water for care

Water plants use treatment chemicals from outside suppliers. Health providers need water to clean, sterilize tools, and give care such as dialysis. Treatment supplies can matter far beyond the water plant.

Sources for these connections

Information Technology is one shared layer across these sectors. IT and Communications work together to deliver digital services. A dependency does not mean that every disruption causes a failure elsewhere.

Explore the shared digital layer →