Becoming Resilient: Staying Connected Under Adversity

By Daniel Schutzer

Recently we have seen several catastrophic events causing huge disruptions, losses, and panic. There is a growing likelihood that these natural disasters and physical and cyber warfare attacks will increase in frequency and lethality, increasingly impacting civilian infrastructure, due to global warming, increased civil unrest and global tensions as international competition increases.

Imagine if two or more occur at the same time? Certainly, cyberattacks can be planned, rehearsed, and launched during the middle of one or more natural events. Up until now we have dealt with each of these events by trying to build systems that are better at detecting, preventing, and protecting us against them. Sadly, we have learned that these events cannot be totally prevented or stopped and have taken their toll.

There is a rising chorus arguing that we must learn to, both individually and collectively, become more resilient in the face of these disastrous events. But how? The author believes we can learn to do better by becoming more resourceful, innovative, collaborative, and by taking a page from how we fight wars.

This book details how these measures can be adapted to keep our systems operational and to rapidly reconstitute lost infrastructure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Business Expert Press
• Release date: Mar 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781637424438

Daniel Schutzer

Dr. Dan Schutzer is a sought-after lecturer and author of numerous books and articles. His related work experience includes Founder and President of Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC), one of the first virtual organizations, working on collaborative research for the financial services industry, primarily in fraud, security and payments; Head Advanced Technology for Citibank; Technical Director of US Naval Intelligence; first Technical Director of Navy Command, Control and Communications; Bell Laboratory working on ABM defense, in charge of discriminating between real warheads and decoys.

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CHAPTER 1

Communications and Other Enabling Technologies

The last decade has seen amazing technology innovations that make possible and are motivating us toward the digitalization of everything. As our digital infrastructure has evolved and its performance improved, it has made possible exciting new applications, and our adoption of these applications has dramatically grown. As these new applications become embedded into our daily lives, so has our dependency on these marvelous technologies increased. Consider how the Web and browsing have changed. Web 1.0 was largely static and about providing information. Generally, this meant knowledge was captured and put on the Web for users to consume. With Web 2.0, the Web became dynamic, social, and interactive, with everyone both consuming and publishing knowledge, buying things, and playing online. The much-touted Web 3.0, although still being defined, is envisioned to make the Web smarter, more distributed, more democratic, embedded into every device, and even more indispensable. Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have caused an acceleration of this digitalization movement. To best understand the threats we face in the 21st century, it is important to review why and how this trend toward digitalization has changed the way we live, work, and play, and what would happen if we were suddenly denied the enabling technology, and cut off from the network.

Network Trends and the Need to Be Resilient

As digital communications form the foundation upon which most of these technology changes are based, the author believes it is a key enabler of this change and critically needs to become more resilient. Ensuring that communications networks continue to function when faced with natural disasters or malicious attacks has become a key priority for both government and private industry. This includes resilience against not only environmental disasters and cyberattacks but also jamming and other forms of electronic warfare, physical destruction, supply chain interruption, and its use in misinformation campaigns. Acknowledging this need, the National Science Foundation is partnering with other federal agencies and private industry to fund RINGS—the Resilient and Intelligent Next-Generation Systems program. As stated in its description, central to NextG systems is resiliency to survive, gracefully adapt to, and rapidly recover from malicious attacks, component failures, and natural and human-induced disruptions. Private-sector partners include Apple, Ericsson, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, Qualcomm, and VMware. On the federal side, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering as well as and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are taking part.

The Importance of the Layered Communications Model

An important feature of current communications architectural models, which they all have in common, is the notion of defining communications in terms of independent layers that communicate in abstractions through standard interfaces defined in terms of services and protocols, where a service is a set of actions that a layer provides to the higher layer, and a protocol defines a set of rules that a layer uses to exchange information with peers. Two examples are:

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) is a seven-layer architecture defined in 1984, namely:

1. Physical layer, Layer 1, which is responsible for transmitting individual bits of information from one node (physical point) to another

2. Data link layer, Layer 2, which makes sure that the data transfer is error-free

3. Network layer, Layer 3, which takes care of finding routing a message from one location, the source, to another, the destination

4. Transport layer, Layer 4, which interfaces with the application layer to ensuring the end-to-end delivery of a complete message

5. Session layer, Layer 5, which is responsible for establishing the connection and maintenance of sessions, authentication, and ensuring security

6. Presentation layer, Layer 6, which extracts data from the application layer, manipulates it to an appropriate format for transmission over the network

7. Application layer, Layer 7, which produces and consumes the data transmitted over the network to perform some function, such as Web browsing, video conferencing, e-mail, and file transfer

The earlier Internet’s Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), developed in the 1970s, had only four layers. It was missing the physical layer and combined Layers 5, 6, and 7 of the OSI model.

One important aspect of this architecture, described as the Internet hourglass model (Figure 1.1), is a systems architectural approach to design that seeks to support a great diversity of applications and allow independent implementation of the application versus the network. At the center of the hourglass model is a distinguished layer in a stack of abstractions that is chosen as the sole means of accessing the lower-level resources of the system. This distinguished layer can be implemented using services that are considered as lying below it in the stack as well as other services and applications that are considered as lying above it. The components that lie above the distinguished layer cannot directly access the services that lie below it. It should be noted that this hourglass model has been successfully applied in many other areas, such as biology and risk management, in addition to communication networks.

Figure 1.1 The Internet hourglass

The advantage of a network layered approach and the hourglass model is that they enable innovations and technology substitutions to be selectively introduced at one layer without impacting the other layers. For example, they allow for the selective introduction of a communication technology advance at the physical layer, such as replacing 4G transmission links with the faster 5G transmission link, without impacting the rest of the communications application and their interfaces. Also, in the case of a severed and/or degraded wired communications link, they would allow the rapid deployment and replacement of a degraded communications link with a rapidly deployed wireless link (such as employing an existing low orbiting communications satellite, such as Starlink, or a rapidly deployed drone wireless communication link). They also allow for the selective introduction of advanced routing algorithms that can operate with greater resiliency and resistance to cyberattacks, without impacting implementations built on top of another layer, such as Web browsing and e-mail applications. This allows advances in physical wireless communications and routing to be easily integrated into existing networked applications to selectively improve resiliency.

Advances in the Physical Layer

There are several existing and planned advances at the physical layer that have the potential for making new applications possible that were previously impractical, thus fostering further digitalization, and offering the potential for improving resiliency. The layered network architecture allows for these communications advances to be selectively and easily introduced without disrupting existing applications, except to allow them to operate at greatly increased speed and with lower latency. These communications advances will impact how people will use the technology and will make possible many new applications. They have both strengths and weakness that can affect both overall systems security and resiliency.

Mobile Networks

5G (fifth-generation mobile network) is the successor to 4G (fourth-generation mobile network). It first came out in early 2019, and currently, still lacks complete global coverage. Remote areas may not get the full global coverage for some years, so 5G’s full economic effect will likely not be realized until about 2035. 5G represents a significant improvement over 4G in several important respects. It supports much faster data transfer rates and a greater number of simultaneous data connections. It also has much lower latency (delay before data transfer starts). 5G’s foundational technologies are virtual, software-based (network function virtualization and software-defined networking). This virtual nature makes 5G more customizable and gives the user more control over their network speed and security.

Some key performance metrics for 5G: Up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) data rate—10 to 100× speed improvement over 4G networks; 1 millisecond latency; 1,000× bandwidth per unit area; able to connect 100× more devices per unit area than 4G; 99.999 percent availability; supports low-power Internet of Things (IoT) devices; employs orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and sub-6GHz (millimeter wavelengths). Although it operates on the same mobile networking principles as 4G, 5G’s increased performance and virtual software implementation open the mobile ecosystem to many new applications. The greatly increased number of devices (billions) that can be simultaneously connected allows 5G to support IoT applications, where most of the billions of devices that connect to 5G will not be smartphones, but things that range from simple monitors and meters to sophisticated robots. It is estimated that there will be more than 22 billion connected IoT devices by 2024. Whereas, 4G supports applications such as realtime messaging, video calling and streaming, mobile TV, and popular services such as ridesharing, and food delivery applications, 5G can additionally support applications such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), seamless IoT, automated cars, remote surgery, and multiplayer cloud gaming. 5G enables real-time video translation, collaboration, and streaming. It can support instant cloud access and more effective and customizable remote enterprise applications. There is no doubt that many emerging and new applications, which haven’t yet been fully envisioned, are likely to be defined in the future. Both 4G and now 5G have created new businesses, and improved our lives, but they have also contributed to our increased dependency on the network being up and available to support our everyday living and working. Although actual upload and download speeds vary by carrier and how many people are connecting, 5G generally delivers up to 20 Gbps peak data rates and 100+ megabits per second (Mbps) average data rates. It supports average upload speeds ranging from 3 to 50 Mbps (compared with 5–6 Mbps up to 15 Mbps for 4G). Average 5G download speeds vary from 150 to 200 Mbps (compared with 8–40 Mbps for 4G). The roughly comparable speed, potential for customization, and its flexibility make 5G a viable wireless alternative to a hardwired network for connecting the home and office to the Internet, and it is being marketed that way. As 5G allows the user (companies and individuals) to easily switch between wireless mobile network and hardwired, it gives the user a greater range of options for restoring lost communications and the potential for increased resiliency.

As millimeter waves work only over short distances, requiring a line of sight between the transmitter and the user, 5G’s signal won’t travel as far 4G. Because of its shorter wavelength, tall buildings and trees may block the frequency of the 5G network, resulting in various propagation problems. Rain can also cause problems for 5G coverage. Because of this decreased broadcast distance and increased obstacles to its propagation, 5G requires more towers for coverage, and this could possibly hurt attempts at reconstitution when communications nodes go down or lose power. Besides requiring an increased number of communications nodes, 5G operations require more complex software. Its greater bandwidth, added complexity, and greater number of network entry points complicate security monitoring solutions and allow cybercriminals to steal data and attack the network more easily. This increased vulnerability to cyberattack is recognized, and efforts are being taken to improve the security. This causes additional user security-related expense, necessitating security operations center, end-to-end encryption, keeping all IoT devices updated with security patches, and investing in consumer education, to help overcome these potential security problems. A 5G connection will also result in a greater battery drain that could significantly reduce a phone’s lifespan. Many phone users say that they experience more heat on their devices while running 5G. As a result, manufacturers are investing in new battery technologies to protect the battery from damages and other problems.

6G (sixth-generation standard for wireless communications technologies) is the planned successor to 5G (Figure 1.2). While still in development, 6G is contemplated to operate at terahertz frequency bands (frequencies between 100 GHz and 10 THz, or wavelengths between 3 mm and 30 μm). Operating at these frequencies would make 6G significantly faster than 5G, capable of delivering a peak data rate of 1,000 Gbps, about 100 times faster than 5G, with latency less than 100 microseconds. Its greatly increased data transfer rates and capacity supports a connection density as high as 10 million devices per square kilometer, allowing almost every imaginable device to be simultaneously connected. Its higher frequencies can support innovations such as zero-latency local networks, wireless data rates comparable to that of fiber optics, between local devices, wireless data center networks (reducing infrastructure cost), on-chip wireless networks, and nano-networks (which connect nano-devices).

6G is still relatively far in the future, and its full impact is still speculative, but it could revolutionize many industries and applications. It has the potential to support applications such as automated surgery, the rapid transfer of medical data, implantable devices, and intersatellite communications. Combined with embedded artificial intelligence (AI) technology, 6G allows the creation of a smart application layer of interconnected devices, from autonomous vehicles to medical implants to geolocation sensors, all of which will communicate with one another in real time. Built on top of this intelligent sensing layer, 6G could result in a Web of sensing and detecting technologies that rapidly collect and analyze huge quantities of relevant data from these interconnected devices. It could result in a world where every piece of life is connected, and every accompanying bit of data is collected. 6G’s widespread deployment will not only have the potential to revolutionize how we live, work, and play but will dramatically increase our dependence on its enabling communications infrastructure, making even a temporary loss, devastating, even life threatening. It has been predicted that when 6G hits the market, sometime after 2030, the smartphone will likely be supplanted by future communications devices that more closely resemble smart glasses or a neckband or chips embedded in our skin, and that we’ll interact through the metaverse, with users entering virtual worlds where their actions are reflected in the real world.

Figure 1.2 6G frequency range

Credit: TOPTICA Photonics AG/www.toptica.com

Many of the shortcomings of 5G are amplified in 6G. While the frequency regions immediately below and above this band (the microwaves and the far infrared, respectively) have been extensively investigated, the terahertz range is one of the least-explored frequency bands for communication. It has some unique properties such as being able to look inside plastics, textiles, paper, and cardboard, penetrating thin layers of materials, but is blocked by thicker objects. It is absorbed by water and many organic substances and has high chemical sensitivity. As terahertz radiation is strongly absorbed by