Risk Analysis in Critical Infrastructure Systems based on the Astrolabe Methodology

Abstract

Critical infrastructure systems are complex networks of adaptive socio-technical systems that provide the most fundamental requirements of the society. Their importance in the smooth conduct of the society has made their role more and more prominent. A failure in any of these important components of todays industrial society can well affect the lives of millions of people. For this reason it is required that proper risk analysis and management models be devised so that the vulnerabilities, threats, and risks of/to critical infrastructure systems are exhaustively understood and revealed. In this paper, we show how the Astrolabe risk analysis methodology can be exploited to perform a comprehensive risk analysis process on any critical infrastructure system. The strength of the Astrolabe risk analysis methodology is that it focuses on the deviation of a system from its original goals. It also incorporates information from multiple sources through the notion of perspectives.