IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/uiiexx/v45y2013i3p244-258.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Protecting critical infrastructures against intentional attacks: a two-stage game with incomplete information

Author

Listed:
  • Chi Zhang
  • Jose Ramirez-Marquez

Abstract

It is now paramount to protect critical infrastructures because of their significance for economic development and social well-being of modern societies. One of the main threats to these networked systems is from intentional attackers, who are resourceful and inventive in selecting time, target, and means of attack. Thus, attackers’ intelligence should be considered when developing intelligent and cost-effective protection strategies. In this research, critical infrastructures are modeled as networks and the development of network protection strategies is modeled as a two-stage game between a protector and an attacker with incomplete information. Due to the complexity of critical infrastructures, there are usually a large number of combinations of potential protection and attack strategies leading to a computational challenge to find the Pareto equilibrium solutions for the proposed game. To meet this challenge, this research develops an evolutionary algorithm to solve the proposed a transformation of the game into a multi-objective optimization model.

Suggested Citation

  • Chi Zhang & Jose Ramirez-Marquez, 2013. "Protecting critical infrastructures against intentional attacks: a two-stage game with incomplete information," IISE Transactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 244-258.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:uiiexx:v:45:y:2013:i:3:p:244-258
    DOI: 10.1080/0740817X.2012.676749
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/0740817X.2012.676749
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/0740817X.2012.676749?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ramirez-Marquez, José Emmanuel & Rocco, Claudio M., 2008. "All-terminal network reliability optimization via probabilistic solution discovery," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 93(11), pages 1689-1697.
    2. Rocco S, Claudio M. & Ramirez-Marquez, José Emmanuel, 2009. "Deterministic network interdiction optimization via an evolutionary approach," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 568-576.
    3. Patterson, S.A. & Apostolakis, G.E., 2007. "Identification of critical locations across multiple infrastructures for terrorist actions," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 92(9), pages 1183-1203.
    4. Kjell Hausken, 2011. "Protecting complex infrastructures against multiple strategic attackers," International Journal of Systems Science, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 11-29.
    5. Mohammad E. Nikoofal & Jun Zhuang, 2012. "Robust Allocation of a Defensive Budget Considering an Attacker's Private Information," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(5), pages 930-943, May.
    6. Chi Zhang & José Ramirez-Marquez & Claudio Sanseverino, 2011. "A holistic method for reliability performance assessment and critical components detection in complex networks," IISE Transactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(9), pages 661-675.
    7. Azaiez, M.N. & Bier, Vicki M., 2007. "Optimal resource allocation for security in reliability systems," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 181(2), pages 773-786, September.
    8. Johannes O. Royset & R. Kevin Wood, 2007. "Solving the Bi-Objective Maximum-Flow Network-Interdiction Problem," INFORMS Journal on Computing, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 175-184, May.
    9. Ramirez-Marquez, José Emmanuel & Rocco S., Claudio M., 2009. "Stochastic network interdiction optimization via capacitated network reliability modeling and probabilistic solution discovery," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 94(5), pages 913-921.
    10. Rocco S., Claudio M. & Emmanuel Ramirez-Marquez, José & Salazar A., Daniel E., 2010. "Bi and tri-objective optimization in the deterministic network interdiction problem," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 95(8), pages 887-896.
    11. Mohsen Golalikhani & Jun Zhuang, 2011. "Modeling Arbitrary Layers of Continuous‐Level Defenses in Facing with Strategic Attackers," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 533-547, April.
    12. Ramirez-Marquez, Jose Emmanuel, 2008. "Port-of-entry safety via the reliability optimization of container inspection strategy through an evolutionary approach," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 93(11), pages 1698-1709.
    13. Avinash Agrawal & Richard E. Barlow, 1984. "A Survey of Network Reliability and Domination Theory," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 478-492, June.
    14. Zhuang, Jun & Bier, Vicki M. & Alagoz, Oguzhan, 2010. "Modeling secrecy and deception in a multiple-period attacker-defender signaling game," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 203(2), pages 409-418, June.
    15. Vicki M. Bier & Louis A. Cox & M. Naceur Azaiez, 2009. "Why Both Game Theory and Reliability Theory Are Important in Defending Infrastructure against Intelligent Attacks," International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, in: Vicki M. M. Bier & M. Naceur Azaiez (ed.), Game Theoretic Risk Analysis of Security Threats, chapter 1, pages 1-11, Springer.
    16. Hausken, Kjell, 2010. "Defense and attack of complex and dependent systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 29-42.
    17. Levitin, Gregory & Hausken, Kjell, 2010. "Influence of attacker's target recognition ability on defense strategy in homogeneous parallel systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 95(5), pages 565-572.
    18. Thomas Krieger, 2003. "On Pareto equilibria in vector-valued extensive form games," Mathematical Methods of Operations Research, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research (GOR);Nederlands Genootschap voor Besliskunde (NGB), vol. 58(3), pages 449-458, December.
    19. Ramirez-Marquez, Jose E. & Rocco S, Claudio M. & Levitin, Gregory, 2009. "Optimal protection of general source–sink networks via evolutionary techniques," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 94(10), pages 1676-1684.
    20. Gerald Brown & Matthew Carlyle & Javier Salmerón & Kevin Wood, 2006. "Defending Critical Infrastructure," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 36(6), pages 530-544, December.
    21. F He & J Zhuang, 2012. "Modelling ‘contracts’ between a terrorist group and a government in a sequential game," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 63(6), pages 790-809, June.
    22. Kjell Hausken & Jun Zhuang, 2011. "Governments' and Terrorists' Defense and Attack in a T -Period Game," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 8(1), pages 46-70, March.
    23. Hausken, Kjell & Levitin, Gregory, 2009. "Minmax defense strategy for complex multi-state systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 577-587.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Chi & Ramirez-Marquez, José Emmanuel & Wang, Jianhui, 2015. "Critical infrastructure protection using secrecy – A discrete simultaneous game," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 242(1), pages 212-221.
    2. Ramirez-Marquez, José Emmanuel & Li, Qing, 2018. "Locating and protecting facilities from intentional attacks using secrecyAuthor-Name: Zhang, Chi," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 51-62.
    3. Ramirez-Marquez, Jose E. & Rocco, Claudio M. & Levitin, Gregory, 2011. "Optimal network protection against diverse interdictor strategies," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 374-382.
    4. Bier, Vicki M. & Hausken, Kjell, 2013. "Defending and attacking a network of two arcs subject to traffic congestion," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 214-224.
    5. Hunt, Kyle & Zhuang, Jun, 2024. "A review of attacker-defender games: Current state and paths forward," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 313(2), pages 401-417.
    6. Qingqing Zhai & Rui Peng & Jun Zhuang, 2020. "Defender–Attacker Games with Asymmetric Player Utilities," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(2), pages 408-420, February.
    7. Ramirez-Marquez, Jose E. & Rocco S, Claudio M. & Levitin, Gregory, 2009. "Optimal protection of general source–sink networks via evolutionary techniques," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 94(10), pages 1676-1684.
    8. Kjell Hausken, 2019. "Special versus general protection and attack of two assets," Operations Research and Decisions, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Management, vol. 29(4), pages 53-93.
    9. Mohammad E. Nikoofal & Mehmet Gümüs, 2015. "On the value of terrorist’s private information in a government’s defensive resource allocation problem," IISE Transactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(6), pages 533-555, June.
    10. Li, Qing & Li, Mingchu & Gong, Zhongqiang & Tian, Yuan & Zhang, Runfa, 2022. "Locating and protecting interdependent facilities to hedge against multiple non-cooperative limited choice attackers," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    11. Shan, Xiaojun & Zhuang, Jun, 2018. "Modeling cumulative defensive resource allocation against a strategic attacker in a multi-period multi-target sequential game," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 12-26.
    12. Liberatore, Federico & Scaparra, Maria P. & Daskin, Mark S., 2012. "Hedging against disruptions with ripple effects in location analysis," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 21-30, January.
    13. Xiaojun (Gene) Shan & Jun Zhuang, 2014. "Modeling Credible Retaliation Threats in Deterring the Smuggling of Nuclear Weapons Using Partial Inspection---A Three-Stage Game," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 11(1), pages 43-62, March.
    14. Kjell Hausken & Jun Zhuang, 2011. "Governments' and Terrorists' Defense and Attack in a T -Period Game," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 8(1), pages 46-70, March.
    15. Bricha, Naji & Nourelfath, Mustapha, 2014. "Extra-capacity versus protection for supply networks under attack," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 185-196.
    16. Levitin, G. & Gertsbakh, I. & Shpungin, Y., 2013. "Evaluating the damage associated with intentional supply deprivation in multi-commodity network," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 11-17.
    17. Ben Yaghlane, Asma & Azaiez, M. Naceur, 2017. "Systems under attack-survivability rather than reliability: Concept, results, and applications," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 258(3), pages 1156-1164.
    18. Hausken, Kjell, 2010. "Defense and attack of complex and dependent systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 29-42.
    19. Hunt, Kyle & Agarwal, Puneet & Zhuang, Jun, 2022. "On the adoption of new technology to enhance counterterrorism measures: An attacker–defender game with risk preferences," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 218(PB).
    20. Levitin, Gregory & Hausken, Kjell, 2010. "Separation in homogeneous systems with independent identical elements," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 203(3), pages 625-634, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:uiiexx:v:45:y:2013:i:3:p:244-258. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/uiie .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.