Operational Resilience of Command and Control Systems to Maintain Multilayered Network Functionality in Response to Large-Scale Disruptive Events

Abstract

This technical report summarizes the work conducted under Award DTRA-18681-M during the performance period 2016-2020. Specifically, this research project seeks to develop new theory, models and algorithms for optimal design of interdependent networks, including command and control (C2) systems, with the objective of making them resilient to both targeted (intentional) and random (natural) attacks. We study both large-scale WMD attacks and small-scale attacks on the most important nodes in the system. “System” refers here to a collection of interdependent networks such as the physical network comprised of sensors, satellite intelligence installations, and transmission and communications stations; information network, comprised of information processing and routing devices (e.g., servers) and software components (databases, encryption and transmission software); and social and cognitive domain comprised of the personnel involved in operation and control of the underlying information and physical domains. We study hierarchical and distributed organization of these domains and apply the resilience quantification methodology in order to find the best configuration of the system as a whole.