Open Access

ARTICLE

Cyber-security Risk Assessment Framework for Critical Infrastructures

Zubair Baig¹, Sherali Zeadally²
1 School of Science, Edith Cowan University
270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western Australia 6027, Australia
2 College of Communication and Information, University of Kentucky
315 Little Library Bldg., Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0224, USA
szeadally@uky.edu
* Corresponding Author: Zubair Baig,

Intelligent Automation & Soft Computing 2019, 25(1), 121-129. https://doi.org/10.31209/2018.100000049

Abstract

A critical infrastructure provides essential services to a nation’s population. Interruptions in its smooth operations are highly undesirable because they will cause significant and devastating consequences on all stakeholders in the society. In order to provide sustained protection to a nation’s critical infrastructure, we must continually assess and evaluate the risks thereof. We propose a risk assessment framework that can evaluate the risks posed to the security of a critical infrastructure from threat agents, with a special emphasis on the smart grid communications infrastructure. The framework defines finegrained risk identification to help quantify and assess exploitable vulnerabilities within a critical infrastructure.

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Keywords

Risk Assessment, Critical Infrastructures, Smart Grid Communications, Cyber Security, Threats

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