Experiencing a DoS attack, or is the building flooded?

The network management community focuses on digital threats, such as hackers, viruses and denial-of-service attacks, but computer networks are also vulnerable to failure due to disruptions in physical infrastructures. From the power grid that delivers electricity, the telephones that enable coordination to the roads that deliver workers to the data center, we see that a complex orchestration of services exists to maintain network operations. Information Technology (IT) professionals that manage critical computing assets need to make time-sensitive decisions based on infrastructure and sensor data, both for proactive disaster planning as well as reactive crisis response. Unfortunately, these data sources are diverse, disparate and massive, making it difficult to understand threats to the network.

Secure Decisions has designed a methodology and display system for visualizing the cascading effects of physical infrastructure failures on the critical cyber infrastructure. The technology, named Cascade, provides situational awareness to those responsible for maintaining critical information systems during disasters and provides the means to fuse and visualize large amounts of infrastructure sensor data. Cascade integrates geographic information systems (GIS) with network management tools to display how disruptions in critical infrastructures such as power, transportation and communications can affect large networked enterprises that comprise the cyber infrastructure.