During a targeted attack on hubs, the integrity of a network will fall apart relatively fast. Since small nodes are predominantly linked to hubs, the targeted attack on the largest hubs results in destroys the network in a short period of time. The financial market meltdown in 2008 is an example of such a network failure, when bankruptcy of the largest players (hubs) led to a continuous breakdown of the whole system. On the other hand, it may have a positive effect when removing hubs in a terrorist network; targeted node deletion may destroy the whole terrorist group. The attack tolerance of a network may be increased by connecting its peripheral nodes, however it requires to double the number of links. | During a targeted attack on hubs, the integrity of a network will fall apart relatively fast. Since small nodes are predominantly linked to hubs, the targeted attack on the largest hubs results in destroys the network in a short period of time. The financial market meltdown in 2008 is an example of such a network failure, when bankruptcy of the largest players (hubs) led to a continuous breakdown of the whole system. On the other hand, it may have a positive effect when removing hubs in a terrorist network; targeted node deletion may destroy the whole terrorist group. The attack tolerance of a network may be increased by connecting its peripheral nodes, however it requires to double the number of links. |