Optimizing Defensive Investments in Energy-Based Cyber-Physical Systems

Interdependent cyber-physical systems (CPS) connect physical resources between independently motivated actors who seek to maximize profits while providing physical services to consumers. Cyber attacks in seemingly distant parts of these systems have local consequences, and techniques are needed to analyze and optimize defensive costs in the face of increasing cyber threats. This paper presents a technique for transforming physical interconnections between independent actors into a dependency analysis that can be applied to find optimal defensive investment strategies to protect assets from financially motivated adversaries in electric power grids.