A Bayesian network to manage risks of maritime piracy against offshore oil fields

In recent years, pirate attacks against shipping and oil field installations have become more frequent and more serious. This article proposes an innovative solution to the problem of offshore piracy from the perspective of the entire processing chain: from the detection of a potential threat to the implementation of a response. The response to an attack must take into account multiple variables: the characteristics of the threat and the potential target, existing protection tools, environmental constraints, etc. The potential of Bayesian networks is used to manage this large number of parameters and identify appropriate countermeasures. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.