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Axel Dierich, Katerina Tzavella, Neysa Jacqueline Setiadi, Alexander Fekete, & Florian Neisser. (2019). Enhanced Crisis-Preparation of Critical Infrastructures through a Participatory Qualitative-Quantitative Interdependency Analysis Approach. In Z. Franco, J. J. González, & J. H. Canós (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management. Valencia, Spain: Iscram.
Abstract: Critical Infrastructure (CI) failures are aggravated by cascading effects due to interdependencies between
different infrastructure systems and with emergency management. Findings of the German, BMBF-funded
research project ?CIRMin? highlight needs for concrete assessments of such interdependencies. Driven by
challenges of limited data and knowledge accessibility, the developed approach integrates qualitative
information from expert interviews and discussions with quantitative, place-based analyses in three selected
German cities and an adjacent county.
This paper particularly discusses how the mixed methods approach has been operationalized. Based on
anonymized findings, it provides a comprehensive guidance to interdependency analysis, from survey and
categorization of system elements and interrelations, their possible mutual impacts, to zooming into selected
dependencies through GIS mapping. This facilitates reliably assessing the need for maintenance of critical
functionalities in crisis situations, available resources, auxiliary powers, and optimization of response time.
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Raffaele Bruno, Marco Conti, & Andrea Passarella. (2008). Opportunistic networking overlays for ICT services in crisis management. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 689–701). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: ICT infrastructures are a critical asset in today's Information society. Legacy telecommunication systems easily collapse in the face of disruptions due to security incidents or natural disasters. Hence, there is an urgent demand for new architectures and technologies ensuring a more efficient and dependable support for various security missions, such as disaster relief initiatives, first responder operations, critical infrastructure protection, etc. In this paper we advocate the opportunistic networking paradigm to build a self-organizing overlay ICT infrastructure for supporting dependable crisis management services. Our opportunistic framework to “glues together” surviving parts of the pre-existing infrastructure with networks deployed on-demand and users devices, and supports dependable distribution of coherent, updated, and non-contradictory information distribution. Finally, to show the potential advantages of our solution, we present initial results on the performance of different types of opportunistic infrastructures, by particularly highlighting the gains of context-aware systems.
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Debora Robles Perez, Manuel Esteve Domingo, Israel Perez Llopis, & Federico J. Carvajal Rodrigo. (2020). System and Architecture of an Adapted Situation Awareness Tool for First Responders. In Amanda Hughes, Fiona McNeill, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2020 Conference Proceedings – 17th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 928–936). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: First responders (FRs) in Europe are currently facing large natural and man-made disasters (e.g. wild fire, terrorist attacks, industrial incidents, big floods, gas leaks etc.), that put their own lives and those of thousands of others at risk. Adapted situation awareneSS tools and taIlored training curricula for increaSing capabiliTies and enhANcing the proteCtion of first respondErs (ASSISTANCE) is an ongoing European H2020 project which main objective is to increase FRs Situation Awareness (SA) for helping and protecting different kinds of FRs' organizations that work together in large scale disasters mitigation. ASSISTANCE will enhance the SA of the FRs organisations during their mitigation activities through the integration of new paradigms, tools and technologies (e.g. drones/robots equipped with a range of sensors, robust communications capabilities, etc.) with the main objective of increasing both their protection and their efficiency.
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Juan Francisco Carías, Leire Labaka, Jose Maria Sarriegi, Andrea Tapia, & Josune Hernantes. (2019). The Dynamics of Cyber Resilience Management. In Z. Franco, J. J. González, & J. H. Canós (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management. Valencia, Spain: Iscram.
Abstract: With the latent problem of security breaches, denial of service attacks, other types of cybercrime, and cyber incidents in general, the correct management of cyber resilience in critical infrastructures has become a high priority. However, the very nature of cyber resilience, requires managing variables whose effects are hard to predict, and that could potentially be expensive. This makes the management of cyber resilience in critical infrastructures a substantially hard task.
To address the unpredictability of the variables involved in managing cyber resilience, we have developed a system dynamics model that represents the theoretical behaviors of variables involved in the management of cyber resilience. With this model, we have simulated different scenarios that show how the dynamics of different variables act, and to show how the system would react to different inputs.
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Leire Labaka, Josune Hernantes, Ana Laugé, & Jose Mari Sarriegi. (2011). Three units of analysis for Crisis Management and Critical Infrastructure Protection. In E. Portela L. S. M.A. Santos (Ed.), 8th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: From Early-Warning Systems to Preparedness and Training, ISCRAM 2011. Lisbon: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Society's welfare is very dependent on the effective performance of Critical Infrastructure (CI). Nowadays, CI constitutes a network of interconnected and interdependent entities. This means that a serious event in one CI can originate cascading events in the rest, leading to a serious crisis. As a consequence, Crisis Management (CM) and Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) should converge and integrate their findings, providing a more unified approach. One relevant issue when developing integrated CM/CIP research is what type of unit of analysis should be used, as it conditions the research objectives and questions. This paper presents an analysis of three different units of analysis used in CM research, focusing on the research objectives and questions used in them. These three different units of analysis have been used in a European CIP research project where three simulation models have been developed based on these three units of analysis.
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Leire Labaka, Josune Hernantes, Tina Comes, & Jose Mari Sarriegi. (2014). Defining policies to improve critical infrastructure resilience. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 429–438). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Industrial accidents increasingly threaten society and economy; the increasing exposure and vulnerability of our modern interlaced societies contributes to intensifying their impact. Critical Infrastructures (CIs) have a prominent role, since they are vital for the welfare of the population and essential for the economic growth. As hazards are hard to predict, decision-makers need to implement adequate adaptation and mitigation strategies to improve CI resilience. Although CI resilience has attracted increasing attention, empirical studies are rare. Research on the implementation of policies aiming at identifying a clear sequence of measures to improve CI resilience is lacking. Therefore, we present a framework to identify resilience policies across four dimensions (technical, organizational, economic and social) and to define the temporal order in which the policies should be implemented. This research provides a framework grounded in our empirical work. Future work will aim at developing quantitative approaches to complement our results.
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Sadeeb Ottenburger, & Thomas Münzberg. (2017). An Approach for Analyzing the Impacts of Smart Grid Topologies on Critical Infrastructure Resilience. In eds Aurélie Montarnal Matthieu Lauras Chihab Hanachi F. B. Tina Comes (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management (pp. 400–411). Albi, France: Iscram.
Abstract: The generation and supply of electricity is currently about to undergo a fundamental transition that includes extensive development of smart grids. Smart grids are huge and complex networks consisting of a vast number of devices and entities which are connected with each other. This fact opens new variations of disruption scenarios which can increase the vulnerability of a power distribution network. However, the network topology of a smart grid has significant effects on urban resilience particularly referring to the adequate provision of vital services of critical infrastructures. An elaborated topology of smart grids can increase urban resilience. In this paper, we discuss the role of smart grids, give research impulses for examining diverse smart grid topologies and for evaluating their impacts on urban resilience by using an agent based simulation approach which considers smart grid topology as a model parameter.
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Frank Schätter, Sascha Meng, Marcus Wiens, & Frank Schultmann. (2014). A multi-stage scenario construction approach for critical infrastructure protection. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 399–408). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Protecting critical infrastructures (CIs) against external and internal risks in an increasingly uncertain environment is a major challenge. In this paper we present a generic multi-stage scenario construction approach that is applicable to a wide range of decision problems in the field of CI protection. Our approach combines scenario construction and decision support, whereby we explicitly consider the performance of decision options which have been determined for a set of initial scenarios. Because of the iterative character of our approach, consequences of decision options and information updates are evolutionary processed towards advanced scenarios. By disturbing vulnerable or critical parts of CIs, cascading effects between interrelated CIs and the responses to the decision options can be determined. We apply this scenario-construction technique to two civil security research projects. One focuses on protecting food supply chains against disruptions, whereas the other aims at securing public railway transport against terrorist attacks.
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Wolfgang Raskob, Stefan Wandler, & Evgenia Deines. (2015). Agent-based modelling to identify possible measures in case of Critical Infrastructure disruption. In L. Palen, M. Buscher, T. Comes, & A. Hughes (Eds.), ISCRAM 2015 Conference Proceedings ? 12th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Kristiansand, Norway: University of Agder (UiA).
Abstract: Understanding critical infrastructures and in particular protecting them in case of natural or man-made threats or disasters is the objective of our research. As use case, the security of the power supply in the year 2030 for the city of Karlsruhe was selected. This scenario contains interdependencies between the electrical power grid and IT components as well as critical infrastructures such as water supply and health care. To simulate the critical infrastructure, their dependencies and potential measures to mitigate effects, agent based simulation models have been developed and applied. The ultimate objective of the research activity is to develop a holistic analysis framework to quantify and evaluate requirements and design decisions of the many players in such complex infrastructures.
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