Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. / My advisor, Professor Leveson has developed an accident modeling framework called STAMP (Systems Theoretic Accident Modeling and Processes.) Traditional accident models typically focus on component failure; in contrast, STAMP includes interactions between components as well as social, economic, and legal factors. My research extends Leveson's STAMP accident model and applies it to a security problem. I have chosen to investigate the threat posed by malicious computer software such as computer viruses. The problem is especially interesting because surrounding the technical aspects of malicious software is a rich socio-technical system. The first part of the thesis investigates two recent computer worm outbreaks and identifies the numerous ways in which the security system failed. For both outbreaks, there were multiple points of failure including the existence of un-patched workstations, software organizations that distributed insecure software, the lack of sufficient legal disincentives to dissuade hackers, as well as many others. The thesis goes on to examine why the system was operating in such an insecure manner. As is generally the case when modeling an accident, the explanation goes beyond any single factor. I argue that that lack of Internet security can be largely attributed to the fact that those providing critical parts of Internet security do not have sufficient incentives to make good security decisions; instead they often make decisions at odds with Internet security. The thesis concludes with a discussion of policy and technical recommendations for addressing computer security. / by David S. Zipkin. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technology and Policy Program, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-107). / by Motoshi Uchiyama. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-87). / As applications of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) become more profuse, the technology itself is stirring up some controversy. Due to its potential for amassing large amounts of information about both people and things, and the possibility of using the information for marketing, tracking, or even spying, numerous consumer groups are spearheading efforts to ensure that RFID does not breach their privacy rights. While there are some privacy laws regulating specific aspects of commerce, there are no laws which currently apply to the collection and use of information as it pertains to RFID. This lack of formal regulation allows companies to legally engage in practices which may encroach on consumers' privacy. However, RFID has the potential to optimize supply chain practices as well as provide other benefits to both consumers and businesses. As RFID use becomes more widespread, regulatory strategies should be considered to protect consumers' right to privacy while obtaining the benefits of using the technology. This thesis explores consumer and industry opinion of RFID through a customized survey. Results of the survey found that consumer and industry opinion are similar in many aspects, especially in the concern for protecting privacy and the desire for a regulatory mechanism to enforce those privacy rights. This thesis addresses the question of whether market-based solutions, self-regulation, or government regulation is the best option for addressing consumers' legitimate concerns of privacy while allowing businesses to reap the benefits of using the technology. / (cont.) The regulatory options are compared and then discussed based on the needs of consumers and industry members as determined by the survey. Finally, four recommendations are suggested to provide guidance for ensuring a positive acceptance of RFID while acknowledging the privacy rights of consumers. / by Deanna R. Laufer. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-226). / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / As radio technologies and public policies evolve, an increasing amount of spectrum is being set aside for transmission use without a license. These license-exempt, or "unlicensed" bands, include 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz in the USA and much of Europe. I argue that this unlicensed spectrum, and low-cost wireless technologies that operate in these bands, is of particular value in the developing world, where it has the potential to substantially impact accessibility and availability of information and telecommunication services. In the context of numerous institutional and structural obstacles to entry license-exempt regulation potentially provides a friendly environment for entrepreneurship, reducing barriers to entry and the risk of regulatory capture. In order to assess this opportunity in the context of Africa, I have surveyed every country in the continent on their regulations and use of the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Responses, from differing country informants though mostly from the regulators themselves, were received from 47 of the 54 countries of Africa, which accounts for 95% of the continent's population. The responses show that there is significant diversity and heterogeneity in the regulation of these bands across Africa. Not only do licensing requirements and specific conditions change widely from country to country, but so do power, range and services restrictions, as well as certification requirements. In addition, regulation is still not in place in some countries, and is changing in others. Enforcement is low, adding to overall uncertainty. Lack of clarity in regulation and enforcement creates confusion and may discourage smaller players from entering the market. For bigger players interested in taking advantage of economies of scale / (cont.) and implementing common strategies across borders, the heterogeneous regulatory environment will also act as a deterrent and a barrier to entry. Despite this heterogeneity, these bands are being used in most African countries, not only for "hotspot" style or other localized coverage in urban areas, but also for longer area coverage. A significant 37% of the countries that responded are using wireless technologies operating in these bands for providing backhaul network connectivity in rural areas. In unlicensed bands regulation tends to place a burden on the transmitter though, e.g. through power restrictions, in particular where competition in the market is low. In view of the continent's weak teledensity and lack of alternative infrastructure, establishing a more certain and uniform regulatory framework and promoting an appropriate business climate across Africa may be instrumental in encouraging private investment and connectivity through technology in these bands. The TU may have a key role to play, both by issuing clearer guidelines for the regulation of license-exempt bands, and by serving as a convening forum for countries to establish common regulatory strategies. While a fair balance is needed in regulation, this thesis argues that governments should err on the side of laxity in order to lower barriers to entry and counterbalance current overregulation of these bands. / by Maria Isabel A.S. Neto. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-64). / Extensive research work has been conducted on the topic of collaboration in supply chain management, but the more general topic of governance in supply networks has never truly been addressed. This research proposes to achieve three connected objectives. The first objective is to define the concepts of governance and supply network in a consistent and non value based way. These concepts have been, to some extent, clouded respectively by an extensive focus on collaboration and an indistinct terminology ("value networks", "supply networks", "value chains", "supply chains" and the less common "netchains"). The second objective is to study the case of Wal-Mart as a generally recognized governance best practice. The main focus will be on (i) the relation between the company's pricing strategy and its supply chain strategy, (ii) the enforcement of investments in supply chain technology throughout the network and (iii) the risks and benefits structure of the governance model. The third objective is to propose a practical framework for the study of governance in supply networks. This framework will be presented in the form of a roadmap for the study of other best practices in the field. It will then be retroactively applied to the case of Wal-Mart in order to confirm both (i) its validity and usefulness as a research tool and (ii) the intuition that the pricing strategy is, in the particular case, the critical enabler of the governance model for the entire supply network. / by Denis de Graeve. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81). / Manufacturing facilities ramping up a new production process are faced with critical decisions, which determine the ability of that process to be cost efficient. Without quantitative analyses, these decisions are made with limited data and may cause manufacturing problems. Two critical decisions are examined in this research: what level of structured training to provide to employees and what cycle time to run when compared with the long-term optimal cycle time. By examining these decisions and their impact on two production metrics, unplanned equipment downtime and reject rate, a series of analyses are presented. A framework for conducting analyses is developed using Process Based Cost Modeling. This framework is applied to various automobile part manufacturing processes. The results indicate that production experience is critical for reducing the two performance metrics of unplanned downtime and reject rate. Additional analyses indicate that to achieve the best cycle times, a significant investment in structured training should be provided. Analytically determining the optimal cycle time is critical to improving production ramp-up because costs increase when running other cycle times. Future work would apply this framework to other manufacturing processes and gather additional data on the processes examined here. / by Colleen Beth Akehurst. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-80). / This thesis examines how firms should prepare against disruption in their supply-chain and focuses on how they can use real options to value dual sourcing strategies. As an introduction, it defines a general framework to help managers to think about supply chain disruptions and determine adapted strategies. The logic of the paper is based on this framework. First it establishes a general review of the possible solutions to manage risk disruptions. A literature research points out that firms can use two complementary types of actions to respond to uncertainty: securing the supply-chain and developing resilience. Both can be performed in many different ways and it seems that there is no single best solution. The problem for managers is to choose a good strategy, and quantifying the benefits of the various solutions can be very helpful. The thesis focuses on the particular approach of dual sourcing and shows that the real options concept is an adapted tool to evaluate such a strategy. It develops an analytic model to analyze and value the benefits of relying on dual sourcing. This model takes into account various parameters such as the frequency of disruption and the loss of market share. Using MATLAB, it defines the particular circumstances that justify a second supplier. Sensitivity analyses permit to determine the impact of each parameter. The model also demonstrates the value of the option of delaying decision and shows that a time-varying dynamic strategy works the best. The thesis finishes with a few recommendations to help managers build a more resilient supply chain and use real options to quantify their choices. / by Sophie Pochard. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2005. / Page 197 blank. / Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis focuses on Space Communications and combines engineering, economics, market, and policy analyses to identify challenges and opportunities in the industry that are beyond the scope of any one isolated discipline. This work is divided in two parts. The first part begins by discussing the background of the communications satellite industry, its value-chain, service applications, history and evolution, and then explores two questions of significant importance to the survival and sustained growth of this industry: 1) are satellite communications solutions competing or complementary alternatives to terrestrial networks-in what context and for what service applications? And 2) what are the characteristics of the regulatory and policy environments and how do they affect the satellite communications industry? In order to address the first question, a framework to analyze the tradeoffs associated with satellite versus terrestrial solutions is developed around three axes: type of solution, service application, and geographic market. It is then argued that satellite solutions and terrestrial networks have a dual character: they are simultaneously competing and complementary technologies. The case is made that satellite solutions have important competitive advantages for voice and data transmission in rural markets and urban areas where terrestrial networks are not available. It is found that consumer video applications represent the most dynamic market with the highest potential of growth for satellite operators. Then, to assess the impact of the regulatory and policy environments, two key regulatory issues are discussed: spectrum/orbit allocation and spacecraft disposal. First, major conflicting issues in frequency bandwidth allocation are discussed. / (cont.) Second, it is argued that there is a critical need to enforce space debris regulations, even though such regulations would have short-term negative financial implications for satellite operators. The case is made that a single collision in geostationary orbit (GEO) is likely to create a cascading debris field that can impact the entire fleet of spacecraft in GEO, resulting in significant loss of satellite communications services. In addition, it is found that the U.S. space communications policy is highly flexible, while on the European side there is a need to consolidate and further ease the regulatory environment in order to promote competition. It is argued that more international cooperation in regulatory issues is desirable. The second part of this thesis focuses on the lifeblood of the satellite industry: the satellite itself (as opposed to the industry-context explored in Part 1). In particular, part II explores issues associated with satellite design lifetime. Qualitative arguments are presented for reducing or extending a spacecraft design lifetime, as seen from different stakeholders' perspectives (the manufacturer, the customer, and society at large). Quantitative analyses are then conducted from an operator's perspective, and preliminary results indicate that optimal design lifetimes do exist that maximize a satellite financial/value metric. These results disprove the traditional assumption that satellite operators (customers) are always better off acquiring spacecraft designed for the maximum technically achievable lifetime. Additionally, it is argued that design lifetime is a powerful lever that can impact the market size as well as the financials of the key players in the space sector. Overall, it is shown that the specification of a system's design lifetime requires much more attention than it has received so far in the literature, as it can impact an entire industry value chain. / by Juan Pablo Torres-Padilla. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 62). / The potential role of renewable energy in producing electricity in industrialized countries has been gaining attention as issues like climate change and high fossil fuel prices more frequently occupy the minds of the public and policymakers. The higher levels of these technologies in power systems that are anticipated, or at least believably envisioned, make inquiries about their likely impacts on power systems relevant. The intermittency of technologies like wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems drives debates about whether larger scale adoption of these technologies will increase the cost of maintaining power system reliability. A more general question is simply whether these technologies will be like conventional capacity in their interaction with the larger power system, both physically and economically. These issues relate to the higher-profile debates about standby charges and if they are warranted. To address these questions, in part, for the New England power pool this study uses detailed historical data in two ways: to analyze the potential impact of large-scale adoption of PV on wholesale power prices and to compare the generation of PV systems in New England to the typical operation of conventional peaking units. / (cont.) This study identifies incentives for owners of incumbent, conventional generators to resist large-scale adoption of PV and how these relate to debates about intermittency. In the short term, the effect of PV on price-spikes would be similar to the installation of more natural gas-fired combustion turbines. In this sense, incentives of owners of base-load generators to resist PV, though real, are not specific to PV. Comparison of PV generation to typical combustion turbine operation, however, suggests that growth of PV could exacerbate problems with ability of combustion turbines and other "peaking" units to cover long-term costs. This comparison shows how PV could increase the costs of maintaining power system reliability in the long-term and why owners of peaking units might resist large-scale PV adoption. It also suggests solutions in the form of considerations for policy design for policies aimed at encouraging the use of PV systems. / by Katherine C. Martin. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 144-145). / "What Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is going to do is start to weaken the foundation of the way we've done things for 100 years...Congress already should be discussing the next telecom bill," said Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell in February 2004, before the United States Senate. The objective of this thesis is to study how VoIP challenges the incumbent US telecommunications act. The appearance of VoIP comes at a juncture when telecommunications system has already turned into a large-scale, complex system with multiple, competing infrastructures. VoIP, however, greatly augments the nested complexity by affording a technology that enables multiple architectures and business models for delivering the same voice (and often converged voice and data) service, while remaining agnostic to the underlying infrastructure. The VoIP-enabled architectures have very different capabilities and costs from one another. Many do not - or cannot - support social regulations such as emergency 911, wiretapping and disability access. Most exploit the economic arbitrage opportunities by evading access charges and universal service contributions. / (cont.) Added to this is the combination of reduced asset specificity due to VoIP's layered architecture and a global standard based ubiquitous IP technology that frees the service providers of the need to own the delivery infrastructure, and enables them to offer service from anywhere globally. Such a misalignment - between regulatory obligations and technical capabilities - has the potential to incubate large-scale systemic failures due to lack of coordination between the local optimization focused private markets and the highly compartmentalized public institutions. The case of Communications Assistance for the Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) - also known as the wiretapping act - is taken to study its implications on VoIP. A system dynamics model is used for the analysis. Four policy lessons emerge through the process of arriving at the model and the subsequent sensitivity analysis. First, considering peer-to-peer (P2P) VoIP a non-issue for CALEA is exactly what might make it an issue. Second, if P2P VoIP aspires to be a telephony substitute, it will invite the threat of social regulation. Third, arms race between CALEA-compliant and non-compliant technologies may raise the cost of CALEA compliance. Fourth, prohibiting use of certain encryption techniques may help the LEA to keep their ability to wiretap intact, but it also deprives customers of the privacy the prohibited schemes would have offered, and thereby helps the Internet-crime. / by Chintan Vaishnav. / S.M.