Implementation of multi-objective optimization for vulnerability analysis of complex networks

This paper describes the vulnerability analysis of a complex network as the process of identifying the combination of component failures that provide maximum reduction of network performance. By way of a vulnerability analysis, the understanding of these failures can be related to the occurrence of a disruptive event, and also to the fundamental tasks for the protection of critical infrastructures. To describe vulnerability, the paper provides an analytical method to characterize completely the importance of network disruptions and identify a vulnerability set via the solution of a proposed multi-objective network vulnerability problem. This approach makes it possible to recognize that decision-makers (e.g. network managers) could benefit from understanding the relationship between different failure scenarios and network performance, for example, how the increase in protection resources would reduce the vulnerability of the network. Numerical examples, related to a medium-sized network and two complex networks, are solved using the evolutionary algorithm known as the multi-objective probabilistic solution discovery algorithm (MO-PSDA) and illustrate the proposed approach.