Blog: Networked Networks Are Prone to Epic Failure

Networked Networks Are Prone to Epic Failure
Wired News (04/15/10) Keim, Brandon

Boston University (BU) researchers have found that networks that are resilient on their own become fragile and prone to catastrophic failure when they are connected to other networks. The researchers say this vulnerability extends to networks of all types, including electrical grids, water supplies, computer networks, roads, hospitals, and financial systems. The researchers modeled the behavior of two networks, each possessing broad degree distribution. During testing, these networks needed only a few nodes to fail before the networks completely crashed. "Networks with broad distributions are robust against random attacks," says Boston University physicist Gerald Paul. "But we found that broad interconnected networks are very fragile." The interconnections fueled a cascading effect, with the failures coursing back and forth. Indiana University's Alessandro Vespignani says the fact that the networks crashed so quickly is even more important. Research into linked systems could help create more resilient networks, or identify existing weaknesses. "We must recognize the possibility of big disasters, and take steps to prepare," says BU physicist Eugene Stanley.

View Full Article