Title: Achieving desired performance objectives in the energy sector through data analytics

Authors: John S. Hurley

Addresses: College of Information and Cyberspace, National Defense University, Ft. Lesley J. McNair, DC 20319-5066, Washington, USA

Abstract: The deployment of information technology (IT) systems in critical infrastructure (CI) sectors has gained a lot of support because of benefits such as cost savings and increased efficiencies. Unfortunately, the deployment can enable IT vulnerabilities. Senior leaders in CI sectors now find themselves in unfamiliar territory having very limited experience with IT systems and networks. Consequently, they are relying upon intuition and, in some cases, unrelated experiences to make strategic decisions that can have dire consequences. The attention to hiring highly specialised data professionals can be a challenge because of the scarcity of qualified persons available. This paper promotes the alternative of focusing on a culture change that encourages a more data-driven decision making approach. Results show that the utilities component of the Cl's energy sector can reap immediate benefits from decision making that uses a data-driven, analytical approach to assess facilities operations, security, and resilience.

Keywords: data-driven; information-oriented; analytical; decision making; cyber attacks.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2017.088237

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2017 Vol.13 No.2/3, pp.259 - 277

Received: 02 May 2017
Accepted: 17 Jun 2017
Published online: 30 Nov 2017 *

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