Cyberattack on Brains’ Networked Control System

Summary:

Understanding pathways of neurological disorders requires extensive research on both structural and functional characteristics of the brain. Graph theoretical analysis of functional connectivity networks highlight the dynamics of communication among brain neurons. Resembling brain to a Networked Control System (NCS), describes seizure, epileptic episodes, as a response to a set of triggers. This unknown set attempts to destabilize the system and so referred to as cyber attacks in network terminology. Our study investigates the dynamics of brain networks under the attack of epileptic seizures focusing on the network parameters variation for pre- inter- and post-attack durations. Statistical analysis of the Scalp EEG-based connectivity networks found significantly (p <; 0.05) higher global efficiency and lower clustering coefficient during the attack compared to those of before attack onset and system reinstatement. This study is groundbreaking in the neuroscience which can take advantage of advancement in cybersecurity. The results of this project are used for a joint effort with the University of California at Los Angles (UCLA).

 

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