The Challenge
Making informed security and resilience decisions requires a hybrid threat perspective. State and non-state actors are challenging countries and institutions they see as a threat, opponent or competitor, through use of hybrid tactics. With the success of hybrid activities targeting critical infrastructure globally and increased opportunities for influencing through information technology, the hybrid challenge will grow.
Hybrid threats are those posed by adversaries, with the ability to simultaneously employ conventional and non-conventional means adaptively in pursuit of their objectives. The range of methods and activities is broad and multidimensional: cyberattacks on energy systems, influencing information, exploiting supply chains and resource dependencies; undermining international institutions; terrorism and transnational organized crime. Hybrid activities target vulnerabilities of the opponent with the intent of remaining below the threshold of war; however, these conflicts can escalate into warfare involving conventional military operations.
Combating hybrid threats requires an all of government and all of society approach, including:
- New policies and doctrine
- Situational awareness of multidimensional, long-term hybrid campaigns
- Heightened civil and military preparedness
- Innovative resilience and response strategies to mitigate subversive actions
What Argonne Delivers
A U.S. Department of Energy laboratory and member of the Hybrid COE network, Argonne is helping the United States and allies’ homeland security, diplomatic, intelligence, and military agencies keep pace with this changing threat landscape through leading-edge research and proven mission support in key areas related to hybrid threats, including:
- Combating misinformation
- Cyber security and information sharing
- Active sensing in urban environments
- Dependency analysis
- Infrastructure security and resilience assessments
- Socio-economic modeling
- Unmanned aerial systems
- Capacity building
- Training and exercises
The Benefits
Informing those making decisions on matters of national security requires targeted, sophisticated data collection and analysis. Argonne has a decades-long track record of contributing to homeland security and assisting the Department of Defense in making informed, complex decisions by employing unique tools and technology, such as high-performance computing, for solving critical scientific problems. Argonne researchers use expertise in systems science (such as agent-based modeling) ) and infrastructure science (such as electric power network modeling) to assess a broad range of hybrid-threat activities – from actions threatening energy security to supply-chain disruptions. Employing Argonne’s advanced scientific capabilities in a comprehensive manner helps decision-makers understand the capability and intent of the adversary, informing resilience strategies and providing situational awareness of hybrid activities as they emerge.
Select Publications
- Verner, D., Grigas, A., and Petit, F., “Assessing Energy Dependency in the Age of Hybrid Threats.” The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats (January 2019).
- Verner, Duane, Frederic Petit, and Kibaek Kim. “Incorporating Prioritization in Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Programs.” Homeland Security Affairs 13, Article 7 (October 2017).
- Evans, N., Petit, F., and Joyce, A., “Assessment of Critical Infrastructure Cyber Dependencies,” George Mason University Center for Infrastructure Protection & Homeland Security (October 2015).
- Clifford, M., December 2015, “National Call to Action: The Resilient Infrastructure Initiative,” George Mason University Center for Infrastructure Protection & Homeland Security (December 2015).
- Phillips, J., Porod, C., and Petit, F., “Resilience and the Electric Grid,” The Military Engineer (May-June 2015).
- Portante, E., Craig, B., Kavicky, J., Talaber, L. and Folga, S., May-June 2016, “Modeling Electric Power and Natural Gas Systems Interdependencies,” George Mason University Center for Infrastructure Protection & Homeland Security (May-June 2016).
- Portante, E., Craig, B., Talaber Malone, L., Kavicky, J., and Folga, S., 2011, EPFast: A Model for Simulating Uncontrolled Islanding in Large Power Systems.
- Carlson, L., Bassett, W., Buehring, W., Collins, M., Folga, S., Haffenden, R., Petit, F., Phillips, J., Verner, D., and Whitfield, R., Resilience: Theories and Applications, ANL/DIS-12-1, Argonne National Laboratory (2012).
- Clifford, M., and Macal, C., 2016, Advancing Infrastructure Dependency and Interdependency Modeling: A Summary Report from the Technical Exchange, Argonne National Laboratory (2016).
- Petit, F., Bassett, G., Black, R., Buehring, W., Collins, M., Dickinson, D., Fisher, R., Haffenden, R., Huttenga, A., Klett, M., Phillips, J., Thomas, M., Veselka, S., Wallace, K., Whitfield, R., and Peerenboom, J., Resilience Measurement Index: An Indicator of Critical Infrastructure Resilience, ANL/DIS-13-01, Argonne National Laboratory (2013).
- Petit, F., Verner, D., Brannegan, D., Buehring, W., Dickinson, D., Guziel, K., Haffenden, R., Phillips, J., and Peerenboom, J., Analysis of Critical Infrastructure Dependencies and Interdependencies. ANL/GSS-15/4, Argonne National Laboratory (2015).
- Wang, J., Advanced Distribution Management Systems for Grid Modernization -- Importance of DMS Distribution Grid Modernization, ANL/ESD-15/16, Argonne National Laboratory (2015)
Media Coverage
- Detect locally, protect globally (Phys.org)
- Multi-laboratory cyber defense competition (Homeland Security News Wire)
- Argonne Labs helping to anticipate risk and enhancing system resilience (Decentralized Energy)
- The US may have just pulled even with China in the race to build supercomputing’s next big thing (MIT Technology Review)
- Doomsday Squad at Argonne National Laboratory Prepares for Chaos(Chicago Tonight)
- Bleak math of the zombie apocalypse: Here’s how long you have(CNET)
- Industry 4.0 Comes Of Age: An Overview, Underview & Preview(Senors Online)
- Cities Closely Watching Chicago’s Version of a Fitbit (Governing Magazine)
- Cyber Defense Club ties for second place at national cybersecurity competition (Kansas State University)
- U.S. Delegation and Top Management of Ukraine’s NNEGC “Energoatom” Observed Loading of Westinghouse Fuel at Unit 5 of Zaporizhzhya NPP (Energo Atom)