Systems-based cyber security in the supply chain

Abstract

The importance of the many sources of risk to the supply chain has been recognized by the practitioners and leadership in this sector of the economy. Cyber security is paramount to the success of the supply chain sector, which constitutes a safety-critical system for the U.S. and global economy. The diverse consequences from a malevolent attack could adversely affect inventory, product quality, time of delivery and the multiple sequential chain-effects due to these interdependent and interconnected economies. As a team, we leveraged the knowledge that we have accrued throughout our academic career with the knowledge and experience of our Technical Advisor, Yacov Haimes. The vast research opportunities at the University of Virginia and the seminal contributions to the field of systems of systems risk analysis further enhanced this comprehensive report. Building on our research and on Hierarchical Holographic Modeling, we performed risk assessment and management. Furthermore, as a team, we developed an overview of this complex system of systems, and generated multiple scenarios of malevolent penetration to the supply chain. Then through the use of Risk Filtering and Risk Management we reduced the large number of risk scenarios to a small set of critical scenarios. To apply our modeling and analytical skills to an emergent "risk" we examined the impact of malevolent use of the three-dimensional (3D) printers might pose to the integrity of the supply chain and the possibilities of this revolutionary technology as a malevolent medium to decimate the safety-critical supply chain systems of systems. In sum, through the use of modeling and analyzing supply chains as complex systems of systems, and by identifying shared-states, resources, decisions, and other variables among the subsystems of the supply chain, we have been able to identify and isolate safety critical features of the supply chain.