MICIE

Tool for systemic risk analysis and secure mediation of data ex-changed across linked CI information infrastructures

Duration: 
2008 to 2012
Sector: 
Critical Infrastructure Protection
Project type: 
EU
Project investigator: 
Francesco Delli Priscoli

MICIE project objective, being in line with EU initiative to esatblish a Critical Infrastructure Warning Information Network (CIWIN), is to design and implement a so-called "MICIE alerting system" that identifies, in real time, the level of possible threats induced on a given CI by “undesired” events happened in such CI and/or other interdependent CIs. Whenever such events occur, the MICIE alerting system will support the CI operators providing them with a real time risk level.

The alarm conditions can be evaluated by means of an on-line prediction tool making use of properly designed abstract CI models.

The CI model makes use of hierarchical modeling in order to evaluate the “level of interdependency” existing among the different CIs, which are characterized through proper “thresholds” values. The MICIE alerting system also includes a proper discovery, communication infrastructure able to operate in a heterogeneous CI framework, aiming at discovering the “sensible” data in the different CIs, at translating them in CI-independent metadata and transporting them via a communication network.

Key activities of MICIE project are:

  • design and analysis for qualitative and quantitative interdependency metrics and indicators accounting the service continuity and data integrity if the ICT infrastructure of the CIs.
  • design and analysis of a hierarchical modeling framework for interdependency analysis based in the integration of heterogeneous modeling techniques.
  • development of an on-line (real time) “cascade failure induced” alarm level predictor able to provide a qualitative indication of the actual level of exposure to cascade failure.
  • design of a suitable communication network able to assure availability, authenticity and integrity of metadata exchanged.
  • validation of the interdependency alarm predictor system on the infrastructure of an Electric Company: the Israel Electric Corp. partner.