Date
3-22-2024
Department
Helms School of Government
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice (PhD)
Chair
John Bentley
Keywords
critical infrastructure, cyber security, cascading events, CIKR, tabletop exercises, weakest link, fractured flaw
Disciplines
Legal Studies | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Recommended Citation
Kilroy, Patrick K. II, "Cyber Defense Planning in Tabletop Exercises and Consideration of a Fractured Flaw Theory for Security Applications" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5259.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5259
Abstract
Cybersecurity threats endanger every part of American life. Security and emergency preparedness professionals plan and prevent cyber-attacks using tabletop exercises. The tabletop exercises establish the risks and protection strategies for multiagency threats, thus, various agencies and industrial partners must work together in these training events. The purpose of this grounded study will be to develop criteria for selecting tabletop participants and explore the risks of participation. An additional consideration is the impact of the sponsoring agencies' agenda on the value of the outcome for the participants. There is sufficient evidence to justify the investigation of these issues. Failing to include the correct participants has led to significant data breaches in the last few years. Participants may also place themselves in more significant harm through participation. The publication of the outcomes of tabletop exercises, including security gaps, causes grave concerns. The primary theory guiding security concepts is Walodi Weibull's ‘weakest link theory;’ however, the flawed fracture theory may be invaluable as an alternative to the weakest link theory. The study design will qualitatively evaluate recent critical infrastructure exercises. Historical literature reviews and current qualitative efforts (ongoing exercises, action items, interviews, and surveys) provide the basis for improvement. A survey with 39 participants, four in-depth interviews across multiple business sizes, and one federal employee yielded findings related to noncompliance, tabletop baggage, and cascading events. Not having the correct participants leads to weaknesses across tabletop events. Having a missing organization or participant causes complications in response and leads to unrealistic responses. The current consequence of participating in a tabletop exercise was that although participation improved responsiveness and security, smaller partners may face a disproportionate increase in risk. Finally, the agenda, goals, and objectives are all impacted by the tabletop exercise’s sponsor. The prevalence of organizational noncompliance was unexpected. Theoretically, expanding from the weakest link model to the fractured flaw model will significantly improve how security professionals manage risk and survivability. Improving tabletop exercises will enhance the nation's emergency preparedness and potential resiliency.
