Criticality based Optimal Cyber Defense Remediation in Energy Delivery Systems

Abstract

A prioritized cyber defense remediation plan is critical for effective risk management in Energy DeliverySystem (EDS). Due to the complexity of EDS in terms of heterogeneous nature blending InformationTechnology (IT) and Operation Technology (OT) and Industrial Control System (ICS), scale and criticalprocesses tasks, prioritized remediations should be applied gradually to protect critical assets. In this work,we propose a methodology for a prioritized cyber risk remediation plan by detecting and evaluating pathsto critical nodes in EDS. We propose critical nodes characteristics evaluation based on nodes’ architecturalpositions, a measure of centrality based on nodes’ connectivity and frequency of network traffic, as well as thecontrolled amount of physical loads. The paper also examines the relationship between cost models of budgetallocation for the removal of vulnerabilities on critical nodes and its impact on gradual readiness.

Keywords

• cyber defense
• criticality
• energy delivery systems
• attack graph
• cost models