M-CI2: modelling cyber interdependencies between critical infrastructures

For Canadians, recent events such as the Ontario/US power blackout of 2003 and the SAKS scare highlight the importance of protection of infrastructure of critical information networks, utilities, and services. Of particular interest are "cyber" interdependencies between infrastructures; that is, those situations in which national and international IT networks may cascade or abate the spread of vulnerabilities from one critical infrastructure to another. In this paper, we propose a program of research to model and simulate cyber interdependences between critical infrastructures, and design information sharing mechanisms for protecting critical infrastructures\´ cyber interdependences. We model interdependences using social network and reliability modelling techniques, and simulate infrastructures using techniques from the complex adaptive systems field. We then design information sharing mechanism using ontologies designed to work with Web services.