Quantitative assessment of critical infrastructures degree of dependency on information and communications technology

Abstract

This paper presents a computational model for the quantification of critical infrastructure (CI) degree of dependency on ICT. Traditional CIs that support modern society in providing uninterruptable vital services are increasingly ICT dependent. To build the needed bulwark against cyber threats, there is the need to assess their dependency on ICT since ICT infrastructure comes with vulnerabilities that amplify cyber risk. Consequently, the proposed computational model for the quantification of CI degree of dependency on ICT is a function of ICT metrics and indicators based on mathematical constructs. The outcome is ICT dependency index (IDI), and ICT dependency quadrant (IDQ), which compare, rank, and visualise the IDI of sectors and organisations. The findings show that no one sector can be chosen arbitrarily as the most critical ICT dependent. The model is particularly useful for developing countries to uniformly assess CI’s degree of dependency on ICT as opposed to uninformed valuation.