Abstract
In modern societies, the rampant growth of the Internet, both on the technological and social level, has created fertile ground for the emergence of new types of risk. On top of that, it enhances pre-existing threats by offering new means for accessing and exploiting Critical Infrastructures. As the kinds of potential threats evolve, the security, safety and resilience of these infrastructures must be updated accordingly, both at a prevention, as well as a real-time confrontation level. Our research approaches the security of these infrastructures with a focus on the data and utilization of every possible piece of information that derives from this ecosystem. Such a task is quite daunting, since the quantity of data that requires processing resides in the Big Dataspace. To address this, we introduce a new well-defined Information Life Cycle in order to properly model and optimise the way information flows through a modern security system. This life cycle covers all the possible stages, starting from the collection phase up until the exploitation of information intelligence. That ensures the efficiency of data processing and filtering while increasing both the veracity and validity of the final outcome. In addition, an agile Framework is introduced that is optimised to take full advantage of the Information Life Cycle. As a result, it exploits the generated knowledge taking the correct sequence of actions that will successfully address possible threats. This Framework leverages every possible data source that could provide vital information to Critical Infrastructures by performing analysis and data fusion being able to cope with data variety and variability. At the same time, it orchestrates the pre-existing processes and resources of these infrastructures. Through rigorous testing, it was found that response time against hazards was dramatically decreased. As a result, this Framework is an ideal candidate for strengthening and shielding the infrastructures’ resilience while improving management of the resources used.
Highlights
Nowadays, the term Critical Infrastructures (CI) describes the assets that are vital for a society to function correctly
For the sets of Abstract Tasks AT and Concrete Tasks CT, we introduce the following relation between the elements of AT with the help of mapping F: Given two elements α, β ∈ CT, we say that α is equivalent to β if and only if α and β are images originating from a common element in AT
We presented a well-defined and complete Information Life Cycle design, aimed to manage and process data from a variety of sources. Each step of this process is strictly established in order to extend the capabilities and to offer flexibility to modern information systems. This aspect of the research suggests that Critical Infrastructure Systems should incorporate this Information Life Cycle due to the constant need for data from external resources
Summary
Vrettos Moulos 1, *,† , George Chatzikyriakos 1,† , Vassilis Kassouras 2 , Anastasios Doulamis 3 , Nikolaos Doulamis 3 ID , Georgios Leventakis 4 , Thodoris Florakis 1,† , Theodora Varvarigou 1 , Evangelos Mitsokapas 5,† , Georgios Kioumourtzis 6 , Petros Klirodetis 1,† , Alexandros Psychas 1,† , Achilleas Marinakis 1,† , Thanasis Sfetsos 7 ID , Alexios Koniaris 2 and Dimitris Liapis 2 and Anna Gatzioura 8.
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