Cascading effects of cyber-attacks on Interconnected Critical Infrastructure

目前，大量的网络物理系统位于重要的基础设施中，如供水，电网和公共交通。这些系统的不间断运行对国家的经济和增长至关重要。然而，这些系统容易受到网络攻击，而网络攻击往往变得越来越复杂。除了已知的漏洞之外，由于它们之间的依赖关系，这些系统中还引入了额外的复杂性。如果一个或多个基础设施受到攻击，其余的互联系统可能会受到影响，由于潜在的级联效应。本研究的目标是调查这些互联环境中的网络攻击和这些系统在攻击下的弹性，以及部署防御和缓解。

Currently, an abundance of cyber physical systems are located in critical infrastructures such as water distribution, power grid and mass transportation. The uninterrupted operation of these systems is essential for the nation's economy and growth. However, these systems are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, which tend to become increasingly more sophisticated. On top of the already known vulnerabilities, extra complexity is introduced within those systems due to dependencies they have with each other. If one or more infrastructures are attacked, the rest of the interconnected systems might get affected due to potential cascading effects.The goal of this reserach is to investigate cyber-attacks in these interconncted environments and the resilience of these systems under attack, as well to deploy defenses and mitigations.