MTD Dynamics: A Quantitative Framework for Modeling and Orchestrating Moving-Target Defense
Abstract
Moving-Target Defense (MTD) is widely believed to be a game-changer for cyber defense, because it can disrupt powerful stealthy attacks such as Advanced Persistent Threats and zero-day attacks. The state-of-the-art is that there is a bag of MTD mechanisms, and existing studies are often geared towards measuring their microscopic effect. The conceptual contribution of the project is to initiate the investigation on the macroscopic effect ofMTD, which is a new perspective that has not been studied until now. The research objective of the project is to develop an innovative quantitative MTD Dynamics framework for modeling and orchestrating MTD. The framework is centered at mathematically modeling and analyzing cyber attack-defense interactions in complex network systems (e.g., Army/DoD enterprises), while the emphasis is on the use ofMTD mechanisms from the defender s point of view. The project has three coherent research tasks. The first task is to investigate and understand the basic MTD Dynamics, especially the quantification of the global or network-wide effectiveness ofMTD mechanisms. The second task is to investigate and understand the MTD Dynamics in broader settings, including fully dynamic cyber attack-defense environments. The third task is to investigate how to orchestrate the dynamic and intelligent employment ofMTD mechanisms to achieve a certain tactical or mission-assurance goal at ideally the minimal cost. Being able to orchestrate MTD is an important capability that can be incorporated into Army/DoD s cyber defense Command-and-Control.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 11, 2018
- Source ID
- W911NF1710566
Entities
People
- Shouhuai Xu
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of Texas at San Antonio