Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 Americans. Chris Guilbeau, Assistant Deputy Director of Emergency Management at Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, says policies and procedures implemented 9/11 since have made a difference.
“The country all and all has come a long way, obviously with the toll it’s taken on this entire country for over 20 years that we’ve been able to keep the country safe and not have any major incidents,” said Guilbeau.
Homeland Security overhauled numerous procedures at airports to enhance security and each state also has a fusion center to help investigate potential threats against Americans.
But now Guilbeau said the biggest threat we are facing from terrorists is cyberattacks which can cripple major companies and infrastructure.
“Because you can do a lot of economic damage which in a country like ours is as bad if not worse than actual physical damage, because just turning the power off, crippling the pipeline just brings everybody to their knees,” said Guilbeau.
Guilbeau said a major help in reducing security threats is the ability for federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to share intelligence, but the best tool we have in thwarting domestic and international terrorists is the public speaking up when they see something out of sorts.
“We’re never going to have enough law enforcement or enough intel handlers to pick up everything that’s going on out there, so it’s really important that the general public plays their role when they see something that’s a little strange,” said Guilbeau.
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