A VULNERABILITY-BASED APPROACH FOR DETERMINING THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION IN COMPUTERIZED ALARM SYSTEMS

We have developed and applied a technical approach for determining the importance of information contained in computerized alarm and access control systems. The methodology is based on vulnerability assessment rather than blanket Department of Energy (DOE) classification rules. This methodology was successfully applied to the Argus alarm, access control and assessment system developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Argus is software-driven, contains interrelated databases, shares host computers, and communicates with field processors and alarms through a common network. The evaluation results provided insights into the importance of alarm system information while the methodology itself provided a framework for addressing associated information protection issues.