24,375 research outputs found
Governing in the Anthropocene: are there cyber-systemic antidotes to the malaise of modern governance?
The Anthropocene imposes new challenges for governments, demanding capabilities for dealing with complexity and uncertainty. In this paper we examine how effective governing of social-biophysical dynamics is constrained by current processes and systems of government. Framing choices and structural determinants combine to create governance deficits in multiple domains, particularly in relation to the governing of complex larger-scale social – biophysical systems. Attempts to build capability for governing ‘wicked problems’ are relevant to sustainability science and Anthropocene governance, but these have mostly failed to become institutionalised. Two cases studies are reported to elucidate how the systemic dynamics of governing operate and fail in relation to espoused purpose. In the UK attempts to enact ‘joined-up’ government’ during the years of New Labour government reveal systemic flaws and consistent praxis failures. From Australia we report on water governance reforms with implications for a wide range of complex policy issues. We conclude that innovations are needed to build capacity for governing the unfolding surprises and inherent uncertainties of the Anthropocene. These include institutionalising, or structural incorporation, of cyber-systemic thinking/practices that can also enhance empowerment and creativity that underpins sustainability science
Smart Grid Communications: Overview of Research Challenges, Solutions, and Standardization Activities
Optimization of energy consumption in future intelligent energy networks (or
Smart Grids) will be based on grid-integrated near-real-time communications
between various grid elements in generation, transmission, distribution and
loads. This paper discusses some of the challenges and opportunities of
communications research in the areas of smart grid and smart metering. In
particular, we focus on some of the key communications challenges for realizing
interoperable and future-proof smart grid/metering networks, smart grid
security and privacy, and how some of the existing networking technologies can
be applied to energy management. Finally, we also discuss the coordinated
standardization efforts in Europe to harmonize communications standards and
protocols.Comment: To be published in IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial
Energy security issues in contemporary Europe
Throughout the history of mankind, energy security has been always seen as a means of protection from disruptions of essential energy systems. The idea of protection from disorders emerged from the process of securing political and military control over energy resources to set up policies and measures on managing risks that affect all elements of energy systems. The various systems placed in a place to achieve energy security are the driving force towards the energy innovations or emerging trends in the energy sector.
Our paper discusses energy security status and innovations in the energy sector in European Union (EU). We analyze the recent up-to-date developments of the energy policy and exploitation of energy sources, as well as scrutinize the channels of energy streaming to the EU countries and the risks associated with this energy import. Moreover, we argue that the shift to the low-carbon production of energy and the massive deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) might become the key
issue in ensuring the energy security and independency of the EU from its external energy supplies. Both RES, distributed energy resources (DER) and “green energy” that will be based on the energy efficiency and the shift to the alternative energy supply might change the energy security status quo for the EU
SCADA System Testbed for Cybersecurity Research Using Machine Learning Approach
This paper presents the development of a Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (SCADA) system testbed used for cybersecurity research. The testbed
consists of a water storage tank's control system, which is a stage in the
process of water treatment and distribution. Sophisticated cyber-attacks were
conducted against the testbed. During the attacks, the network traffic was
captured, and features were extracted from the traffic to build a dataset for
training and testing different machine learning algorithms. Five traditional
machine learning algorithms were trained to detect the attacks: Random Forest,
Decision Tree, Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes and KNN. Then, the trained
machine learning models were built and deployed in the network, where new tests
were made using online network traffic. The performance obtained during the
training and testing of the machine learning models was compared to the
performance obtained during the online deployment of these models in the
network. The results show the efficiency of the machine learning models in
detecting the attacks in real time. The testbed provides a good understanding
of the effects and consequences of attacks on real SCADA environmentsComment: E-Preprin
Closing the loop of SIEM analysis to Secure Critical Infrastructures
Critical Infrastructure Protection is one of the main challenges of last
years. Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems are widely used
for coping with this challenge. However, they currently present several
limitations that have to be overcome. In this paper we propose an enhanced SIEM
system in which we have introduced novel components to i) enable multiple layer
data analysis; ii) resolve conflicts among security policies, and discover
unauthorized data paths in such a way to be able to reconfigure network
devices. Furthermore, the system is enriched by a Resilient Event Storage that
ensures integrity and unforgeability of events stored.Comment: EDCC-2014, BIG4CIP-2014, Security Information and Event Management,
Decision Support System, Hydroelectric Da
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