SYNTHETIC NETWORK GENERATION AND VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS OF INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

Abstract

In September 2017, Category-5 Hurricanes Irma and Maria struck the U.S. Virgin Islands and caused significant damage to all critical infrastructure within the territory. This thesis assesses the vulnerability of the fiber optic telecommunications system on the island of St. Croix to determine ways to ensure Internet access during future disasters. Specifically, we use publicly available information to (1) develop a geospatial data set for St. Croix Internet infrastructure, (2) generate a synthetic network model that approximates Internet demands and traffic by St. Croix communities and critical facilities, and (3) identifies network vulnerabilities to recommend disaster hardening. Results show that the synthetic model is vulnerable to fiber cuts that can disconnect all households and critical facilities from the Internet. Recommendations for system hardening include the need to ensure redundant physical fiber paths off-island and switching locations between internet service providers.