Resilience in the supply chain management for critical infrastructure

In Norway the power grid consists of complex supply chains. This requires collaboration across the sectors within the critical infrastructure. Increasing digitalization also creates vulnerability. A shift in traditional risk thinking is necessary to meet the ever-changing threat picture. This shift can be achieved through a strategic approach to resilience. The activities of anticipating, responding, monitoring and learning can help to achieve resilience in order to ensure the safety of critical infrastructure.

In order to emphasize resilience in risk thinking related to critical infrastructure, the project will carry out scenario-based analyzes, explore incident reports and prepare a test regime for practicing incident management. This is expressed through three research questions:

(1) How to use scenario analysis as a strategic tool to understand the vulnerabilities in the digital supply chain for critical infrastructure, and how to use the results from the scenario analysis to prepare a resilience plan (a plan covering the time before, during and after an extraordinary event)?

(2) How can critical infrastructure organizations manage the threats that digitalization brings to supply chains?

(3) How can previous experiences from organizations exposed to a computer attack be integrated into a new training regime?

The project will contribute new knowledge about handling complex supply chains in a critical infrastructure with strict requirements for reliability. The supply chain's digitization processes entail changes in the work structure, and therefore need a resilient approach for continuous improvement.

Mari Aarland is an industrial PhD Fellow working at NC-Spektrum, an information security company in Telemark. 

Supervisors: Terje Gjøsæter and Bjørn Erik Munkvold