Critical infrastructures provide essential services for the safety and security of citizens and society. The protection of such kind of infrastructures is a combined objective for operators, in... Show More

Critical infrastructures provide essential services for the safety and security of citizens and society. The protection of such kind of infrastructures is a combined objective for operators, in terms of business continuity and the public as part of crisis management structures and procedures. Consequently, cooperation is required in prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. It spans from regulations as a baseline to fulfill public demands to multi-criteria alignment of plans and actions in context of potential disasters and emergencies. Such kind of critical situations are characterized as natural disasters but also man-made disasters and conflicts. Supported by information technology (IT) can help both crisis management and continuity management. IT can improve the coordination between public and private actors involved and can speed up processes by, for instance, facilitating inter-organizational situational awareness. However, at the same time, experiences indicate that the use of IT as an operational tool might imply an increased perception of complexity. This special issue is focused on the specific challenges and technical implications for IT in critical infrastructure protection, as well as on findings regarding research and development methodologies to create, to validate and to evaluate solutions. The article approaches specific challenges expressed through expectations towards critical infrastructure operators or solution approaches like smart grid topologies for smart urban continuity management. Social media was identified as a research subject both contributing to the complexity in disasters and emergencies as well as potentially helping to identify and mitigate risks.

The generation and supply of electricity is currently about to undergo a fundamental transition that includes extensive development of smart grids. Smart grids are huge and complex networks... Show More

The generation and supply of electricity is currently about to undergo a fundamental transition that includes extensive development of smart grids. Smart grids are huge and complex networks consisting of a vast number of devices and entities which are connected with each other. This opens new variations of disruption scenarios which can increase the vulnerability of a power distribution network. However, the network topology of a smart grid has significant effects on urban resilience particularly referring to the adequate provision of infrastructures. Thus, topology massively codetermines the degree of urban resilience, i.e. different topologies enable different strategies of power distribution. Therefore, this article introduces a concept of criticality adapted to a power system relying on an advanced metering infrastructure. The authors propose a two-stage operationalization of this concept that refers to the design phase of a smart grid and its operation mode, targeting at an urban resilient power flow during power shortage.

Previous research into social media crisis communication has tended to focus on use by emergency managers rather than other key stakeholder, critical infrastructure (CI) operators. This article adds... Show More

Previous research into social media crisis communication has tended to focus on use by emergency managers rather than other key stakeholder, critical infrastructure (CI) operators. This article adds to the field by empirically investigating public expectations of information provided by CI operators during crisis situations and if CI operators currently meet such expectations. It draws on key themes that emerged from a review of the literature on public expectations of disaster related information shared via social media. Then, it presents the results of an online questionnaire and interview-based study of disaster-vulnerable communities in France, Norway, Portugal and Sweden. Results indicate that members of the public expect CI operators to provide disaster related information via traditional and social media, but not necessarily respond to their queries on social media. Operators appear to meet public expectations of traditional media use, but should expand their current practices to include digital media. Recommendations for CI operators on how to do use social media follow.

Individuals are increasingly using social media during crisis situations to seek information. However, little is known about how they utilize social media to gain an understanding of crisis... Show More

Individuals are increasingly using social media during crisis situations to seek information. However, little is known about how they utilize social media to gain an understanding of crisis situations. The aim of this study was to close this gap by conducting sense-making interviews with 18 German social media users. A qualitative content analysis revealed the following sense-making barriers: low information value, negative emotions, biased reporting, taking advantage, volume of information, limited knowledge, speed of information dissemination, and technical barriers. Furthermore, users applied the individual sense-making strategies of searching, selecting, verifying, enriching, interpreting, and sorting, as well as the collective strategies of distributing, communicating, and reporting. This article contributes to research by providing categorizations of sense-making barriers and strategies in the context of crisis situations. Furthermore, suggestions are made for how emergency agencies could utilize social media for crisis and continuity management.