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Abstract The purpose of this article is to introduce a risk analysis framework to enhance the cyber security of and to protect the critical infrastructure of the electric power grid of the United States. Building on the fundamental questions of risk assessment and management, this framework aims to advance the current risk analysis discussions pertaining to the electric power grid. Most of the previous risk‐related studies on the electric power grid focus mainly on the recovery of the network from hurricanes and other natural disasters. In contrast, a disproportionately small number of studies explicitly investigate the vulnerability of the electric power grid to cyber‐attack scenarios, and how they could be prevented or mitigated. Such a limited approach leaves the United States vulnerable to foreign and domestic threats (both state‐sponsored and “lone wolf”) to infiltrate a network that lacks a comprehensive security environment or coordinated government response. By conducting a review of the literature and presenting a risk‐based framework, this article underscores the need for a coordinated U.S. cyber security effort toward formulating strategies and responses conducive to protecting the nation against attacks on the electric power grid.
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Critical Risk Indicators (CRIs) for the electric power grid: a survey and discussion of interconnected effects
The electric power grid is a critical societal resource connecting multiple infrastructural domains such as agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing. The electrical grid as an infrastructure is shaped by human activity and public policy in terms of demand and supply requirements. Further, the grid is subject to changes and stresses due to diverse factors including solar weather, climate, hydrology, and ecology. The emerging interconnected and complex network dependencies make such interactions increasingly dynamic, posing novel risks, and presenting new challenges to manage the coupled human–natural system. This paper provides a survey of models and methods that seek to explore the significant interconnected impact of the electric power grid and interdependent domains. We also provide relevant critical risk indicators (CRIs) across diverse domains that may be used to assess risks to electric grid reliability, including climate, ecology, hydrology, finance, space weather, and agriculture. We discuss the convergence of indicators from individual domains to explore possible systemic risk, i.e., holistic risk arising from cross-domain interconnections. Further, we propose a compositional approach to risk assessment that incorporates diverse domain expertise and information, data science, and computer science to identify domain-specific CRIs and their union in systemic risk indicators. Our study provides an important first step towards data-driven analysis and predictive modeling of risks in interconnected human–natural systems.
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- PAR ID:
- 10297193
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Environment Systems and Decisions
- ISSN:
- 2194-5403
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1-22
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-021-09822-2
