Abstract for: A System Dynamics approach to Critical Infrastructures Interdependency Analysis: the experience of the CRISADMIN Project

Critical Infrastructures are widely perceived as the backbone of today’s society and awareness about their security needs is constantly growing. Due to the fact that infrastructures are no longer a public-authority monopoly, investments in security and resilience need to be proven effective and cost-efficient vis-à-vis with the emerging challenges and the issues at stake. Decision makers need to assess their investments alternatives by means of scenario modelling tools, such as the CRISADMIN Decision Support System. The CRISADMIN project aims at realizing a DSS based on a system dynamics model of critical infrastructures’ interdependencies, thus attempting to provide information on the impact of critical events on the very same infrastructures. This paper describes the CRISADMIN methodological framework applied to modeling Critical Infrastructures interdependencies, focusing specifically on the energy supply, the telecommunication and the transport networks.