How to measure the degree of interdependencies among critical infrastructures

In the last years, the problem of analysing the interdependencies existing among critical infrastructures (CI) has assumed a great importance. Some attempts have been done to characterise, qualify and quantify these phenomena. Unfortunately, the largest part of these studies is devoted to model interdependencies and to emphasise the causes. Conversely, very few works are devoted to define methodologies and tools able to provide a measurement of it. This paper summarises and critically reviews some of the results reported into the literature on how to ‘measure’ interdependencies and propose a unified framework that could represent a useful starting point to try to answer to the following question: “Are these two infrastructures too dangerously interdependent?”.

Il fenomeno delle interdipendenze è, certamente, l’elemento di maggiore innovatività che caratterizza il dominio delle CIP. Il lavoro, dopo una review dei principali approcci proposti in letteratura per caratterizzare e quantificare tale fenomeno, propone una innovativa metodologia per “misurarlo” in termini di variazione nelle conseguenze rispetto alla situazione atomica.