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In reference to a critical infrastructure interdependencies, Saifur
Rahman, ARI director, responded, “For example, a gas pipeline may affect traffic lights. If the natural gas for the pipeline is blocked, then the power plant that relies on natural gas will fail, which will cause the electricity that supports the traffic control center to be lost, which will in turn, make the traffic lights
malfunction. We must work to anticipate how infrastructures such as these influence each other.”
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ARI
Assistant Professor serves as co-chair for computer communications
and networks conference.
ARI Assistant Professor
Luiz A. DaSilva served as technical program committee co-chair for the 2003 International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN 2003) in Dallas, Texas, October 20-22, 2003.
As the technical program co-chair, DaSilva invited scholars and professionals in the networking field to make up a 119-member committee, supervised the paper submission process of the 260 submitted papers and oversaw the peer review process, which included a total of 860 reviews for the 260 papers.
“I think the conference went very well, and the selectivity in deciding which papers were accepted ensured the high quality content of the presentations,” DaSilva said.
DaSilva also chaired the committee meeting held at the University of Missouri Kansas City, supervised the selection of 95 papers that made up the conference and invited people to chair the conference’s 30 sessions.
ICCCN is a major international conference designed to present original and fundamental advances in the field of computer communications and networks. The conference also fosters communication among researchers and practitioners working in a wide variety of scientific areas with a common interest in improving computer communications and networks.
Manuscripts submitted for the 2003 conference came from 21 countries, representing every continent except Antarctica. Conference participants came from the U.S., Canada, Taiwan, Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, Finland and Australia, among others.
The
primary focus of the conference is on new and original research results
in the areas of design, implementation and applications of Computer
Communications and Networks. Participants are invited to submit papers
that address novel, challenging, and innovative results.
In
2004, the ICCCN Conference is scheduled to be held in Chicago.
For more information, please contact Luiz DaSilva
or visit http://icccn.sice.umkc.edu
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ARI Director
represents United States at an European workshop on critical infrastructure.
Following on his infrastructure research presentation at the Research
Summit of the “Virginia Institute for Defense and Homeland Security”
in June 2003 in Washington, DC,
Saifur Rahman, ARI director and Virginia Tech electrical and computer
engineering professor, represented the Unites States at the “European
Critical Infrastructure Workshop” in Frankfurt late September 2003.
Titled “Critical Infrastructure Dependency: A View from the United
States,” Rahman’s presentation outlined how many complex interactive
networks influence each other to make a city work; and charted goals
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Department
of Defense to ensure the security of United State networks. Such networks
include energy infrastructure, telecommunication, transportation and
distribution and banking and finance.
Complex interactive networks are interdependent, and the dependencies
are extensive.
“For example, a gas pipeline may affect traffic lights. If the natural
gas for the pipeline is blocked, then the power plant that relies
on natural gas will fail, which will cause the electricity that supports
the traffic control center to be lost, which will in turn, make the
traffic lights malfunction,” Rahman said. “We must work to anticipate
how infrastructures such as these influence each other.”
Rahman has been working with ARI researchers on the project “Critical
Infrastructure Modeling Assessment Program” (CIMAP).
CIMAP strives to provide state and federal policymakers and legislators
with long-term perspectives and guidance on the issues that affect
the planning, commissioning and operation of critical infrastructures,
such as the region’s traffic light system.
The Frankfurt presentation also paid attention to security. Rahman
reported The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cybersecurity
of Industrial Control System’s goal is “by 2007, to increase the security
of computer systems that control production and distribution in critical
infrastructure industries, including electric power, oil and gas,
water, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, metals and mining, pulp and paper,
and durable goods manufacturing by: defining and applying standard
information security requirements; developing information
security best practice guidelines and conducting outreach activities;
and developing laboratory and field test methods for information
security products and approaches applied to the process control sector.
The US Department of Defense has also added an analysis and assessment
mission in reference to complex interactive networks. The purpose
of the analysis and assessment is to, in part: determine what assets
are truly critical mission independent and those tied to specific
missions, identify vulnerabilities that could result in degradation
or disruption of missions, regardless of the cause, and determine
the consequences of cascading failures on operations, and identify
possible corrective actions.
For more information, please contact Saifur Rahman
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