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Industrial automation and control systems (IACS) are oftentimes the backbone of businesses and critical infrastructure (CI) around the world. They underpin control of nuclear plants, refineries, manufacturing and distribution systems. Today, organisations are routinely targeted by cyber-attackers. Cyberattacks have been increasing in frequency and sophistication. This is especially true of those attacks directed against high-profile operations such as petrochemical refineries. Attackers invest considerable time and money to study a target and probe inherent weaknesses, which they eventually attempt, and succeed in some cases, to exploit. Historically, industrial networks were kept separate from corporate networks. However, significant efficiency gains and demands for digital interconnectivity have driven a convergence between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) systems. The business of cybersecurity has been evolving dramatically, posing significant challenges to management teams, across all industries and business domains. Countries within the Caribbean, such as Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), are by no means an exception given their dependence on the energy sector and supporting IACSs. This paper examines the effectiveness of next generation firewalls (NGFWs) in their defense of Process Control Networks (PCNs) against malware. It focuses on the case of a process plant complex in T&T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We tested the properties of the 18 Household Food Security Survey (HFSS) items, and the validity of the resulting food security classifications, in an English-speaking middle-income country. Methods: Survey of primary school children in Trinidad and Tobago. Parents completed the HFSS. Responses were analysed for the 10 adult-referenced items and the eight child-referenced items. Item response theory models were fitted. Item calibrations and subject scores from a oneparameter logistic (1PL) model were compared with those from either two-parameter logistic model (2PL) or a model for differential item functioning (DIF) by ethnicity. Results: There were 5219 eligible with 3858 (74%) completing at least one food security item. Adult item calibrations (standard error) in the 1PL model ranged from -4.082 (0.019) for the 'worried food would run out' item to 3.023 (0.042) for 'adults often do not eat for a whole day'. Child item calibrations ranged from -3.715 (0.025) for 'relied on a few kinds of low cost food' to 3.088 (0.039) for 'child didn't eat for a whole day'. Fitting either a 2PL model, which allowed discrimination parameters to vary between items, or a differential item functioning model, which allowed item calibrations to vary between ethnic groups, had little influence on interpretation. The classification based on the adult-referenced items showed that there were 19% of respondents who were food insecure without hunger, 10% food insecure with moderate hunger and 6% food insecure with severe hunger. The classification based on the child-referenced items showed that there were 23% of children who were food insecure without hunger and 9% food insecure with hunger. In both children and adults food insecurity showed a strong, graded association with lower monthly household income (P < 0.001). Conclusion: These results support the use of 18 HFSS items to classify food security status of adults or children in an English-speaking country where food insecurity and hunger are more frequent overall than in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We evaluated the reliability and validity of the short form household food security scale in a different setting from the one in which it was developed. Methods: The scale was interview administered to 531 subjects from 286 households in north central Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. We evaluated the six items by fitting item response theory models to estimate item thresholds, estimating agreement among respondents in the same households and estimating the slope index of income-related inequality (SII) after adjusting for age, sex and ethnicity. Results: Item-score correlations ranged from 0.52 to 0.79 and Cronbach's alpha was 0.87. Item responses gave within-household correlation coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.78. Estimated item thresholds (standard errors) from the Rasch model ranged from -2.027 (0.063) for the 'balanced meal' item to 2.251 (0.116) for the 'hungry' item. The 'balanced meal' item had the lowest threshold in each ethnic group even though there was evidence of differential functioning for this item by ethnicity. Relative thresholds of other items were generally consistent with US data. Estimation of the SII, comparing those at the bottom with those at the top of the income scale, gave relative odds for an affirmative response of 3.77 (95% confidence interval 1.40 to 10.2) for the lowest severity item, and 20.8 (2.67 to 162.5) for highest severity item. Food insecurity was associated with reduced consumption of green vegetables after additionally adjusting for income and education (0.52, 0.28 to 0.96). Conclusions: The household food security scale gives reliable and valid responses in this setting. Differing relative item thresholds compared with US data do not require alteration to the cutpoints for classification of 'food insecurity without hunger' or 'food insecurity with hunger'. The data provide further evidence that re-evaluation of the 'balanced meal' item is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are particularly disaster prone and, as such, disaster risk reduction and effective emergency management are crucial to sustainable development. Studying critical infrastructure interdependencies (CII) is a relatively new facet of disaster risk reduction. Computer simulation software is the most effective and economical method of studying these relationships. This paper contextualises the role of CII simulation as part of a complete disaster and emergency management programme, and reviews the state-of-the-art as pertains to utilisation of such tools among Caribbean emergency management agencies (EMAs). It finds that Caribbean EMAs do not currently utilise CII tools. The paper then reviews some of the most popular simulation tools under development such as CIPDSS, HAZUS, I2Sim/DR-NEP and ESRI Sim Disaster. Their applicability and ease of adoption to the Caribbean context is considered. I2Sim was viewed as being the best suited for Caribbean EMAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]