Risk management in coalition networks

In modern military operations, nations participate as members of a coalition. In order to realize a rapid command and control cycle, the armed forces of one nation need to establish communication links between their information system and that of other members of the coalition. These interconnections inevitably introduce risks, and these risks need to be managed. However, because each nation uses its own risk management methodology and tools, integrating the results of the risk assessment performed by a partner in the coalition with whom information is exchanged, into one's own risk management process, remains a periodically performed, manual operation. In this paper we will first discuss risk management approaches in a single organization, and show why it is important to adopt a continuous risk management approach. Next we will present a concept for realizing this continuous risk management in a coalition environment.