ITR: Secure CITI: A Secure Critical Information Technology Infrastructure for Disaster Management

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

This is an interdisciplinary proposal for a Self-secure and robust Critical Information Technology Infrastructure (Secure CITI, or S-CITI for short) that takes advantage of pre-deployed data-sensing equipment and strategically deploys new sensors in areas of concern. For example, cameras that are used to monitor traffic and toll booths could be redirected to report on unexpected events (e.g., pieces falling from a tunnel ceiling or a major crash) or re-oriented to collect information about a potential landslide in a nearby hill. The PIs propose to introduce a system to coordinate the use of existing resources and distribute the data gathered among different organizational units in the form of a Virtual Coordination Center to facilitate efficient and quickly coordinated actions to natural and human-caused disasters. The system will contain a learning module that will feed post-emergency data into the data processing module of pre-emergency decision making. In order to carry out this project, the PIs will specify scenarios and use the information generated from these scenarios to use/redeploy sensors for collecting specific data, establish communication between Emergency Managers (EMs) and disseminate appropriate information. Protocols will respect the different organizational units and the privacy of data through secure and authenticated data access. Protocols will also be sensitive to the disaster level, the load on the system and the type of information being shared.