89,766 research outputs found
The essential dynamics of information infrastructures
This paper inquires into the complexities of contemporary IT solutions based on a case
study of the EU’s eCustoms initiatives using Manuel DeLanda’s Assemblage Theory.
Technological innovations have enabled information infrastructures with dramatically
increased number and heterogeneity of included components, and their dynamic and
unexpected interactions. Unfortunately, lack of understanding of how the increasing
complexity influences development initiatives is hampering effective information
infrastructure development. Assemblage Theory can be seen as holistic synthesis of
previous research streams seeking to explain how information infrastructures evolve in
social contexts. Accordingly, in this paper it helps us getting a holistic grasp of the
complexity of contemporary IT solutions and the “essence” of their dynamics. Through
Assemblage Theory we explain how the European eCustoms information infrastructure
has through a dialectic between stabilizing and destabilizing processes assumed its
current shape - a result of decisions taken decades ago, path dependency, complexity,
and accumulated emergence
Tracking advanced persistent threats in critical infrastructures through opinion dynamics
Advanced persistent threats pose a serious issue for modern industrial environments, due to their targeted and complex attack vectors that are difficult to detect. This is especially severe in critical infrastructures that are accelerating the integration of IT technologies. It is then essential to further develop effective monitoring and response systems that ensure the continuity of business to face the arising set of cyber-security threats. In this paper, we study the practical applicability of a novel technique based on opinion dynamics, that permits to trace the attack throughout all its stages along the network by correlating different anomalies measured over time, thereby taking the persistence of threats and the criticality of resources into consideration. The resulting information is of essential importance to monitor the overall health of the control system and cor- respondingly deploy accurate response procedures. Advanced Persistent Threat Detection Traceability Opinion Dynamics.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
Modelling interdependencies between the electricity and information infrastructures
The aim of this paper is to provide qualitative models characterizing
interdependencies related failures of two critical infrastructures: the
electricity infrastructure and the associated information infrastructure. The
interdependencies of these two infrastructures are increasing due to a growing
connection of the power grid networks to the global information infrastructure,
as a consequence of market deregulation and opening. These interdependencies
increase the risk of failures. We focus on cascading, escalating and
common-cause failures, which correspond to the main causes of failures due to
interdependencies. We address failures in the electricity infrastructure, in
combination with accidental failures in the information infrastructure, then we
show briefly how malicious attacks in the information infrastructure can be
addressed
Syrian Refugees and the Digital Passage to Europe: Smartphone Infrastructures and Affordances
This research examines the role of smartphones in refugees’ journeys. It traces the risks and possibilities afforded by smartphones for facilitating information, communication, and migration flows in the digital passage to Europe. For the Syrian and Iraqi refugee respondents in this France-based qualitative study, smartphones are lifelines, as important as water and food. They afford the planning, navigation, and documentation of journeys, enabling regular contact with family, friends, smugglers, and those who help them. However, refugees are simultaneously exposed to new forms of exploitation and surveillance with smartphones as migrations are financialised by smugglers and criminalized by European policies, and the digital passage is dependent on a contingent range of sociotechnical and material assemblages. Through an infrastructural lens, we capture the dialectical dynamics of opportunity and vulnerability, and the forms of resilience and solidarity, that arise as forced migration and digital connectivity coincide
The power of creative thinking in situations of uncertainties: the almost impossible task of protecting critical infrastructures
A good and scientific analysis starts with a closer look at the conceptualisation at hand. The definition of CIP is not easy because of its wide range. This paper examines infrastructures that are critical and need protection. Each word entails a specific connotation and is characterized by several components
The power of creative thinking in situations of uncertainties: the almost impossible task of protecting critical infrastructures
A good and scientific analysis starts with a closer look at the conceptualisation at hand. The definition of CIP is not easy because of its wide range. This paper examines infrastructures that are critical and need protection. Each word entails a specific connotation and is characterized by several components
Interdisciplinary and physics challenges of Network Theory
Network theory has unveiled the underlying structure of complex systems such
as the Internet or the biological networks in the cell. It has identified
universal properties of complex networks, and the interplay between their
structure and dynamics. After almost twenty years of the field, new challenges
lie ahead. These challenges concern the multilayer structure of most of the
networks, the formulation of a network geometry and topology, and the
development of a quantum theory of networks. Making progress on these aspects
of network theory can open new venues to address interdisciplinary and physics
challenges including progress on brain dynamics, new insights into quantum
technologies, and quantum gravity.Comment: (7 pages, 4 figures
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