The U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched the Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative in 2007 with the State Department and private-sector partners to identify overseas infrastructure whose disruption could damage U.S. public health, economic security, or national security. The first National Critical Foreign Dependencies List was compiled in fiscal year 2008 and eventually covered more than 300 assets and systems in over 50 countries, including submarine cables, ports, oil pipelines, mines, dams, and pharmaceutical facilities. A February 2009 diplomatic cable directed U.S. diplomats to gather information on such sites without consulting host governments.
On December 5, 2010, WikiLeaks released a redacted version of the cable and list, then published an unredacted copy in September 2011. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley warned that disclosure could aid extremist targeting, while analysts including Alistair Millar argued that much of the information was already publicly discoverable and that exact locations and security measures were absent. Subsequent reporting found several entries obsolete or inaccurate: BAE Systems said facilities had been sold or repurposed, and Mayne Pharma said its listed antivenom production had ended more than a decade earlier. The episode exposed both the intelligence-gathering role assigned to diplomats and weaknesses in the accuracy and control of classified infrastructure data.
