"It's like air traffic control on water, " says Geir Karlsen, BP's expert on such operations.

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For generations, infrastructure sectors and firms have been artificially segregated into regulatory silos (telephone, electricity, water, sewer, cable, railroad, airline, air traffic control).

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Among the targeted infrastructure was everything from systems that control traffic lights in large cities to nuclear plants, water treatment plants , large manufacturers, defense contractors and high tech companies.

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The Spanish company sells traffic-control systems, as well as programs to reduce energy usage in water utilities and weather-monitoring software.

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