Title: A complex structure representation of the US critical infrastructure protection program based on the Zachman framework

Authors: Unal Tatar; Bilge Karabacak; Polinpapilinho F. Katina; Andy Igonor

Addresses: College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, University at Albany – SUNY, Albany, NY 12222, USA ' Ross College of Business, Franklin University, Columbus, OH 43215, USA ' Department of Informatics and Engineering Systems, University of South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg, SC 29303, USA ' Ross College of Business, Franklin University, Columbus, OH 43215, USA

Abstract: Critical infrastructures are vital assets for public safety, economic welfare or national security of countries. The importance of critical infrastructures necessitates state-level coordination of security efforts based on some rigid policies, strategies, and procedures. This hierarchical set of rules is collectively referred to as the critical infrastructure protection program (CIPP). As the pioneer of CIPP, the USA has a very complex program in which partners and stakeholders have multiple and varied interacting roles and responsibilities. The complexity of roles and interactions creates a need to make a representation of these complex structures by using intuitive tools. The Zachman framework is such a tool that provides a formal and structured way of viewing and defining a complex enterprise. It is represented by a 6×6 matrix with rows defining stakeholders and columns defining underlying interrogatives. In this article, a proof-of-concept study is performed to represent the US CIPP using the Zachman framework. The proof-of-concept study showed that the Zachman framework could be beneficial in overcoming challenges of a CIPP program which can be regarded as a complex enterprise.

Keywords: critical infrastructure protection program; CIPP; cyber security; roles and responsibilities; stakeholders; enterprise architecture; Zachman framework; system of systems.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSE.2019.102869

International Journal of System of Systems Engineering, 2019 Vol.9 No.3, pp.221 - 234

Received: 09 Mar 2019
Accepted: 30 Mar 2019
Published online: 08 Oct 2019 *

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