Systems Engineering for the Digital Age

Chapter 27Implementation Example: Silverfish

Tim Sherburne¹, Megan M. Clifford², and Peter A. Beling¹

¹ Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Hume Center for National Security and Technology, Blacksburg, VA, USA

² Stevens Institute of Technology, School for Systems and Enterprises, Hoboken, NJ, USA

Implementation Example: Silverfish

Introduction and Background

Silverfish is a hypothetical system but was deemed by the ARDEC team on the System Engineering Research Center (SERC) Research Task (RT)‐191 as sufficient for cyber use case development. Initially meant for the Cyber Security Requirements Methodology, the Silverfish use case quickly gained attention in several cyber research efforts. To best serve the field manual, this chapter is written in chronological and practical order (Horowitz et al. 2018b).

Concept of Operations (CONOPS)

The Silverfish System (Horowitz et al. 2015b) is a rapidly deployable set of fifty (50) individual ground‐based weapon platforms (referred to as obstacles) controlled by a single operator. The purpose of the system is to deter and prevent adversaries from trespassing into a designated geographic area that is located near a strategically sensitive location. The system includes a variety of sensors to locate and classify potential trespassers as either personnel or vehicles (Figure 27.1).

An internal wireless communication system is used to support communication between the sensors and the operator and supports fire control communications ...