Efficiency vs. security: information technology consolidations-resilience, complexity, and monoculture

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dc.contributor.advisorLewis, Ted G.
dc.contributor.advisorJasper, Scott
dc.contributor.authorRicker, Jennifer L.
dc.contributor.departmentNational Security Affairs (NSA)
dc.date.accessioned2018-06-01T20:09:52Z
dc.date.available2018-06-01T20:09:52Z
dc.date.issued2018-03
dc.description.abstractGovernmental organizations commonly seek to cut costs and increase efficiency through consolidation and standardization of information technology (IT) infrastructure. This may result in vulnerabilities not typically considered by policymakers, due to concentration and homogenization of critical assets, elimination of redundancy and surge capacity, and tightly coupled systems. This thesis reviewed the potential vulnerabilities that may exist in consolidated IT systems due to the effects of complexity, self-organized criticality, and monoculture, and shows that efficient systems carry inherent vulnerabilities. Because we cannot mitigate every possible threat, hazard, or vulnerability, IT professionals should focus on system resilience. Resilience of a system is counter-proportional to the product of vulnerability and spectral radius; therefore, any increase in vulnerability, spectral radius, or both decreases resilience. A reduction in overall vulnerability can compensate for increased self-organization and other losses of resilience through a variety of recommended actions. Many of those actions come with a cost-organizations will have to determine the tradeoffs they are willing to make between efficiency and security.
dc.description.distributionstatementApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
dc.description.serviceActing Director, Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Springfield, IL
dc.description.urihttp://archive.org/details/efficiencyvssecu1094558355
dc.identifier.thesisid30433
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10945/58355
dc.publisherMonterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
dc.rightsCopyright is reserved by the copyright owner.
dc.subject.authorcomplexity
dc.subject.authorresilience
dc.subject.authormonoculture
dc.subject.authorefficiency
dc.subject.authorsecurity
dc.subject.authorself-organization
dc.subject.authorIT consolidation
dc.titleEfficiency vs. security: information technology consolidations-resilience, complexity, and monoculture
dc.typeThesis
dspace.entity.typePublication
etd.thesisdegree.disciplineSecurity Studies (Homeland Security and Defense)
etd.thesisdegree.grantorNaval Postgraduate School
etd.thesisdegree.levelMasters
etd.thesisdegree.nameMaster of Arts in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense)
relation.isDepartmentOfPublication81a8e9c5-9e07-40e0-812d-dc249e16ffd2
relation.isDepartmentOfPublication.latestForDiscovery81a8e9c5-9e07-40e0-812d-dc249e16ffd2
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