Cascade Control and Defense in Complex Networks
Abstract
Complex networks with a heterogeneous distribution of loads may undergo a global cascade of overload failures when highly loaded nodes or edges are removed due to attacks or failures. Since a small attack or failure has the potential to trigger a global cascade, a fundamental question regards the possible strategies of defense to prevent the cascade from propagating through the entire network. Here we introduce and investigate a costless strategy of defense based on a selective further removal of nodes and edges, right after the initial attack or failure. This intentional removal of network elements is shown to drastically reduce the size of the cascade.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review Letters
- Pub Date:
- August 2004
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.098701
- arXiv:
- arXiv:cond-mat/0401074
- Bibcode:
- 2004PhRvL..93i8701M
- Keywords:
-
- 89.75.Hc;
- 05.10.-a;
- 89.20.Hh;
- Networks and genealogical trees;
- Computational methods in statistical physics and nonlinear dynamics;
- World Wide Web Internet;
- Condensed Matter - Disordered Systems and Neural Networks;
- Condensed Matter - Statistical Mechanics;
- Nonlinear Sciences - Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, 2 figures, Revtex