Plan-Based Simulation of Malicious Intruders on a Computer System.

Abstract

The problem addressed by this work was to reduce the time taken to train system administrators in detecting computer security problems in system audit logs. The approach taken was to develop a simulator which generates realistic audit logs that illustrate both non-malicious and malicious behavior. These logs can be used to train system administrators. The simulator was written in Prolog and used means-ends analysis to simulate seventeen combinations of general system functions which includes the following: logins, editing, file deletions, file copying, changing file access rights, obtaining superuser privileges, sending mail and logouts. The simulation manipulates virtual system files analogously to what real users do. This creates realistic audit file logs that include a mixture of normal and malicious activity. More impressive is that the entire source program requires only 19.1 kbytes of space, making it small enough to be compatible with a personal computer. (KAR) P. 2

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1995
Accession Number
ADA297701

Entities

People

  • Christopher C. Roberts

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Computers
  • Computing Devices
  • Control Simulators
  • Cybersecurity
  • Personal Computers
  • Simulations
  • Simulators

Readers

  • Computer Science/Computer Engineering/Data Science/Digital Signal Processing.
  • Cybersecurity.
  • Database Systems and Applications

Technology Areas

  • Cyber
  • Space