74 research outputs found
A Colonel Blotto Game for Interdependence-Aware Cyber-Physical Systems Security in Smart Cities
Smart cities must integrate a number of interdependent cyber-physical systems
that operate in a coordinated manner to improve the well-being of the city's
residents. A cyber-physical system (CPS) is a system of computational elements
controlling physical entities. Large-scale CPSs are more vulnerable to attacks
due to the cyber-physical interdependencies that can lead to cascading failures
which can have a significant detrimental effect on a city. In this paper, a
novel approach is proposed for analyzing the problem of allocating security
resources, such as firewalls and anti-malware, over the various cyber
components of an interdependent CPS to protect the system against imminent
attacks. The problem is formulated as a Colonel Blotto game in which the
attacker seeks to allocate its resources to compromise the CPS, while the
defender chooses how to distribute its resources to defend against potential
attacks. To evaluate the effects of defense and attack, various CPS factors are
considered including human-CPS interactions as well as physical and topological
characteristics of a CPS such as flow and capacity of interconnections and
minimum path algorithms. Results show that, for the case in which the attacker
is not aware of the CPS interdependencies, the defender can have a higher
payoff, compared to the case in which the attacker has complete information.
The results also show that, in the case of more symmetric nodes, due to
interdependencies, the defender achieves its highest payoff at the equilibrium
compared to the case with independent, asymmetric nodes
Game Theory for Secure Critical Interdependent Gas-Power-Water Infrastructure
A city's critical infrastructure such as gas, water, and power systems, are
largely interdependent since they share energy, computing, and communication
resources. This, in turn, makes it challenging to endow them with fool-proof
security solutions. In this paper, a unified model for interdependent
gas-power-water infrastructure is presented and the security of this model is
studied using a novel game-theoretic framework. In particular, a zero-sum
noncooperative game is formulated between a malicious attacker who seeks to
simultaneously alter the states of the gas-power-water critical infrastructure
to increase the power generation cost and a defender who allocates
communication resources over its attack detection filters in local areas to
monitor the infrastructure. At the mixed strategy Nash equilibrium of this
game, numerical results show that the expected power generation cost deviation
is 35\% lower than the one resulting from an equal allocation of resources over
the local filters. The results also show that, at equilibrium, the
interdependence of the power system on the natural gas and water systems can
motivate the attacker to target the states of the water and natural gas systems
to change the operational states of the power grid. Conversely, the defender
allocates a portion of its resources to the water and natural gas states of the
interdependent system to protect the grid from state deviations.Comment: 7 pages, in proceedings of Resilience Week 201
Validating AI-Generated Code with Live Programming
AI-powered programming assistants are increasingly gaining popularity, with
GitHub Copilot alone used by over a million developers worldwide. These tools
are far from perfect, however, producing code suggestions that may be incorrect
in subtle ways. As a result, developers face a new challenge: validating AI's
suggestions. This paper explores whether Live Programming (LP), a continuous
display of a program's runtime values, can help address this challenge. To
answer this question, we built a Python editor that combines an AI-powered
programming assistant with an existing LP environment. Using this environment
in a between-subjects study (N=17), we found that by lowering the cost of
validation by execution, LP can mitigate over- and under-reliance on
AI-generated programs and reduce the cognitive load of validation for certain
types of tasks.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
A call for a fundamental shift from model-centric to data-centric approaches in hydroinformatics
This is the final version. Available on open access from Cambridge University Press via the DOI in this record. Data availability statement: All used data have been presented in the paper.Over the years, data-driven models have gained notable traction in water and environmental engineering. The adoption of these cutting-edge frameworks is still in progress in the grand scheme of things, yet for the most part, such attempts have been centered around the models themselves, and their internal computational architecture, that is, the model-centric approach. These endeavors can certainly pave the way for more tailor-fitted models capable of producing accurate results. However, such a perspective often neglects a fundamental assumption of these models, which is the importance of reliability, correctness, and accessibility of the data used in constructing them. This challenge arises from the prevalent model-centric paradigm of thinking in the field. An alternative approach, however, would prioritize placing data at the focal point, focusing on systematically enhancing current datasets and devising frameworks to improve data collection schemes. This suggests a paradigm shift toward more data-centric thinking in water and environmental engineering. Practically, this shift is not without challenges and necessitates smarter data collection rather than an excessive one. Equally important is the ethical and accurate collection of data, making it available to everyone while safeguarding the rights of individuals and other legal entities involved in the process.European Union Horizon 202
Effect of boundary vibration on the frictional behavior of a dense sheared granular layer
We report results of 3D discrete element method simulations aiming at investigating the role of the boundary vibration in inducing frictional weakening in sheared granular layers. We study the role of different vibration amplitudes applied at various shear stress levels, for a granular layer in the stick-slip regime and in the steady-sliding regime. Results are reported in terms of friction drops and kinetic energy release associated with frictional weakening events. We find that a larger vibration amplitude induces larger frictional weakening events. The results show evidence of a threshold below which no induced frictional weakening takes place. Friction drop size is found to be dependent on the shear stress at the time of vibration. A significant increase in the ratio between the number of slipping contacts to the number of sticking contacts in the granular layer is observed for large vibration amplitudes. These vibration-induced contact rearrangements enhance particle mobilization and induce a friction drop and kinetic energy release. This observation provides some insight into the grain-scale mechanisms of frictional weakening by boundary vibration in a dense sheared granular layer. In addition to characterizing the basic physics of vibration-induced shear weakening, we are attempting to understand how a fault fails in the earth under seismic wave forcing. This is the well-known phenomenon of dynamic earthquake triggering. We believe that the granular physics are key to this understanding
E-Mobility -- Advancements and Challenges
Mobile platforms cover a broad range of applications from small portable electric devices, drones, and robots to electric transportation, which influence the quality of modern life. The end-to-end energy systems of these platforms are moving toward more electrification. Despite their wide range of power ratings and diverse applications, the electrification of these systems shares several technical requirements. Electrified mobile energy systems have minimal or no access to the power grid, and thus, to achieve long operating time, ultrafast charging or charging during motion as well as advanced battery technologies are needed. Mobile platforms are space-, shape-, and weight-constrained, and therefore, their onboard energy technologies such as the power electronic converters and magnetic components must be compact and lightweight. These systems should also demonstrate improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness compared to traditional designs. This paper discusses some technical challenges that the industry currently faces moving toward more electrification of energy conversion systems in mobile platforms, herein referred to as E-Mobility, and reviews the recent advancements reported in literature
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