Game-Theoretic Framework for Network Resilience, Reliability and Security

Tamer Başar, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract: With its rich set of conceptual, analytical and algorithmic tools, game theory has emerged as providing a versatile and effective framework for addressing issues of resilience, reliability and security in networked (control) systems. This expository talk will introduce the key elements of this modeling paradigm, and discuss various game-theoretic as well as control-theoretic solution concepts of direct relevance to this topical area. It will cover efficiency (or inefficiency) of these solutions within a non-cooperative mode of decision-making, their sensitivity to imprecision in modeling, and ways of coping with the presence of strategic adversaries. Further, the role of incentive (or disincentive) mechanisms in mitigating or totally eliminating the adverse effects of inefficiency, sensitivity, and adversarial impact will be discussed. The presentation will conclude with some specific examples of security games within the contexts of communication, computer and sensor networks, and cyber-physical systems.


Tamer Başar has been with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1981, where he holds the academic positions of Swanlund Endowed Chair; Center for Advanced Study Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Professor, Coordinated Science Laboratory; and Professor, Information Trust Institute. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering and the European Academy of Sciences; Fellow of IEEE, IFAC, and SIAM; a past president of the IEEE Control Systems Society (CSS), the founding president of the International Society of Dynamic Games (ISDG), and a past president of the American Automatic Control Council (AACC). He has received several awards and recognitions over the years, including the highest awards of IEEE CSS, IFAC, AACC, and ISDG, the IEEE Control Systems Technical Field Award, and a number of international honorary doctorates and professorships. Dr. Başar has over 600 publications in systems, control, communications, optimization, and dynamic games, including books on non-cooperative dynamic game theory, robust control, network security, wireless and communication networks, and stochastic networks. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Automatica and editor of several book series.