Modeling Bitcoin plus Ethereum as an Open System of Systems of Public Blockchains to Improve Their Resilience against Intentional Risk

In this article, we model the two most market-capitalised public, open and permissionless blockchain implementations, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), as a System of Systems (SoS) of public blockchains. We study the concepts of blockchain, BTC, ETH, complex networks, SoS Engineering and intentional risk. We analyse BTC and ETH from an open SoS perspective through the main properties that seminal System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) references propose. This article demonstrates that these public blockchain implementations create networks that grow in complexity and connect with each other. We propose a methodology based on a complexity management lever such as SoSE to better understand public blockchains such as BTC and ETH and manage their evolution. Our ultimate objective is to improve the resilience of public blockchains against intentional risk: a key requirement for their mass adoption. We conclude with specific measures, based on this novel systems engineering approach, to effectively improve the resilience against intentional risk of the open SoS of public blockchains, composed of a non-inflationary money system, “sound money”, such as BTC, and of a world financial computer system, “a financial conduit”, such as ETH. The goal of this paper is to formulate a SoS that transfers digital value and aspires to position itself as a distributed alternative to the fiat currency-based financial system.

Security Awareness in the Internet of Everything

Our societal infrastructure is transforming into a connected cyber-physical system of systems, providing numerous opportunities and new capabilities, yet also posing new and reinforced risks that require explicit consideration. This chapter addresses risks specifically related to cyber-security. One contributing factor, often neglected, is the level of security education of the users. Another factor, often overlooked, concerns security-awareness of the engineers developing cyber-physical systems. Authors present results of interviews with developers and surveys showing that increase in security-awareness and understanding of security risks, evaluated as low, are the first steps to mitigate the risks. Authors also conducted practical evaluation investigating system connectivity and vulnerabilities in complex multi-step attack scenarios. This chapter advocates that security awareness of users and developers is the foundation to deployment of interconnected system of systems, and provides recommendations for steps forward highlighting the roles of people, organizations and authorities.

Fundamentals of the ergotechnical approach to the formation of an electronic educational environment

The monograph deals with the problems of analysis and synthesis of electronic information and learning environment as an ergatic system. The issues of creation, development and evaluation of such systems, as well as information support of the process of building and using artificial intelligence, including in the protection of information, are considered. The monograph provides theoretical justifications for the research of information objects, which reveals the mechanism of constructing a mathematical model of the educational process at the university and explains the understanding of the education system as a system of systems, as well as information processes associated with it. The research presented in the monograph is the basis for the creation of new and effective robotic organizational and organizational-technical systems in education. The monograph is intended for researchers and teachers, postgraduates, undergraduates and engineers specializing in the field of educational management, including intelligent adaptive control of complex robotic systems.