Resilient Sociotechnical, Cyber-Physical, Software-Intensive Systems of Systems

Abstract: Our society’s critical infrastructures (CI) —energy, water, transportation, communication, critical information infrastructure —lacks of resilience, typically losing essential functionality following adverse events. In the future, the number of climatic extremes may intensify or become more frequent, and building resilience becomes the optimal course of action for large complex systems. CI are cyber-physical systems (CPS) increasingly using open networks for operation. The vulnerabilities of the software deployed in the new control system infrastructure will expose the control system to many potential risks and threats from attackers. CPS have become a major area for research and development. However, all CPS are also sociotechnical systems (STS), and for successful integration with society, the sociotechnical dimension of CPS should be addressed. The target of this paper is to research how resilience management of critical systems can be understood. The study indicates that situational awareness, continuous learning and the sociotechnical dimension of CPS are prerequisites for any CI to become resilient.