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/ Journal Issues / Focus on Air Force Research Laboratory’s Information Directorate / Bridging Fault Tolerance and Game Theory for Assuring Cyberspace

Bridging Fault Tolerance and Game Theory for Assuring Cyberspace

Published in Journal of Cyber Security and Information Systems
Volume: 4 Number: 1 - Focus on Air Force Research Laboratory’s Information Directorate

Authors: Dr. Kevin A. Kwiat and Charles A. Kamhoua
Posted: 03/08/2016 | Leave a Comment

The FTFT effort investigated models, algorithms, and protocols to support the creation of an OODA loop for fighting-through [6-7]. An important step forward for FTFT became in-depth strategic consideration of cyber conflict. FTFT provided a fight through mechanism, but a mechanism, however, is merely a trigger; procedures must be used in conjunction with the mechanism to face the attack more strategically. For these procedures we turned to game theory.

Game theory is the branch of applied mathematics [8] that analizes conflict and strategic interactions among intelligent rational agents. With such a broad scope, game theory became syngistic with a contested cyberspace. For example, game theory has been applied to network security [9-10]. The synergy we observed compelled us to investigate a game theoretic framework and bridging it with fault tolerance. The most dangerous system failures typically originate from intelligent attackers instead of random faults, and game theory enables modelling the behavior of intelligent adversaries. Thus, a game theoretic model, if properly applied, might be the best one to deal with the worst case scenario, i.e., an inteligent attacker with detailed knowledge of the system. Furthermore, we believe that game theory is a promising framework because game theory has had marked success for over six decades in modeling other complex systems such as economics and biology. Finally, to the best of our knowledge, a game theoretic modeling of fault tolerance capabilities for cyber assurance was a new and open problem.

A strategic interaction is any interaction in which the behavior of one agent affects the outcome of others. First, the optimum defensive strategy should depend on the attacker’s behavior. Second, several protocols and security policies, including diversity, cannot be unilaterally implemented. Cyber diversity, like numerous other protocols, requires the collaboration of several users in several organizations in order to be successful. Finally, cyberspace is interconnected and the data collected from one vulnerable computer can be used to compromise others. Using the framework of game theory, the cyber defender has a path to optimize his resources and defensive strategy while simultaneously taking into account those actions from other users including the attackers. A small sampling of our early papers [11- 13] documents some of our accomplishments in using a game theoretic framework to embrace fault tolerance and diversity. Most recently, we have used the framework for assuring cloud computing [14-17].

A key component of game theoretic modeling of cybersecurity is to find the Nash equilibrium of the cybersecurity game. At a Nash equilibrium profile, no player’s payoff is increased by a unilateral deviation. Also, each player is playing their best response to other players’ strategies. As a consequence, the cyber defender can use the Nash equilibrium profile to predict the attacker’s behavior. These actions are depicted in the decision loop of Figure 3 whose 4 stages are analogous to those depicted in the loops of Figures 1 and 2.

The STORM effort aims to capture the mechanisms that move this loop. With the ability to control this loop, STORM strives to develop dynamic and unpredictable schemes which, like a storm, can disrupt the adversaries’ plans and advances. Strategically, by storming the attacker in this way we embrace Boyd’s notion of a best stragtegy: to win without ever engaging in a fight at all [18].

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References:

[1] Babbage, C., “On the Mathematical Powers of the Calculating Engine,” (Unpublished Manuscript) Buxton MS7, Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, December 1837, Printed in Origins of Digital Computers: Selected Papers, B. Randell (ed), Springer, 1974, pp. 17-52.

[2] Avizienis, A., Kelly, J. P. J. “Fault Tolerance by Design Diversity: Concepts and Experiments,” Computer, vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 67-80, August 1984.

[3] Avizienis, A., Laprie, J.-C., “Dependable Computing: From Concepts to Design Diversity,” IEEE, vol. 74, no. 5, pp. 629-638, May 1986.

[4] Frans P.B. Osinga, Science, Strategy and War: The Strategic Theory of John Boyd, Routledge Publishing, 2006.

[5] Johnson, B., Design and Analysis of Fault-Tolerant Digital Systems, Addison-Wesley, 1989.

[6] Fault Tolerance for Fight Through (FTFT), AFRL Final Report, AFRL-RI-RS-TR-2013-039, February 2013.

[7] Kwiat, K., “Fault Tolerance for Fight-Through: A Basis for Strategic Survival,” Proceedings of the ACM 4th International Conference on Security of Information and Networks (SIN) held in Sydney, Australia, November 2011.

[8] Myerson, R. “Game theory: analysis of conflict”, Harvard University Press, 1997.

[9] Roy, S. Ellis, C. Shiva, S. Dasgupta, D. Shandilya, V. Qishi, W. “A Survey of Game Theory as Applied to Network Security”, 43rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). Honolulu, HI, USA. March 2010.

[10] Alpcan, T. and Basar T. “Network Security: A Decision and Game-Theoretic Approach”, Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (November 30, 2010)

[11] Kamhoua, C., Kwiat, K., Chatterjee, M., Park, J., and Hurley, P., “Replication and Diversity for Survivability in Cyberspace: A Game Theoretic Approach,” in Proceedings of the International Conference of information Warfare ( ICIW 2013) Denver, Colorado, USA, March 2013.

[12] Kamhoua, C., Kwiat, K., and Park, J., “Surviving in Cyberspace: A Game Theoretic Approach” in the Journal of Communications, Special Issue on Future Directions in Computing and Networking, Academy Publisher, Vol. 7, No 6, June 2012.

[13] Kamhoua, C., Hurley, P., Kwiat, K., and Park, J., “Resilient Voting Mechanisms for Mission Survivability in Cyberspace: Combining Replication and Diversity” in the International Journal of Network Security and Its Applications (IJNSA), Vol.4, No.4, July 2012.

[14] Kamhoua, C., Kwiat, L., Kwiat, K., Park, J., Zhao, M., Rodriguez, M., “Game Theoretic Modeling of Security and Interdependency in a Public Cloud” in the proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Cloud Computing, (IEEE CLOUD 2014) Anchorage, Alaska, June 2014.

[15] Kwiat, L., Kamhoua, C., Kwiat, K., Tang, J., and Martin, A., “Security-aware Virtual Machine Allocation in the Cloud: A Game Theoretic Approach” in the proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Cloud Computing, (IEEE CLOUD 2015) New York, New York, June-July 2015.

[16] Kamhoua, C., Martin, A., Tosh, D., Kwiat, K., Heitzenrater, C., Sengupta, S., “Cyber-threats Information Sharing in Cloud Computing: A game Theoretic Approach” in the proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Cyber Security and Cloud Computing (CSCloud 2015), New York, November 2015.

[17] Kamhoua, C., Ruan, C., Martin, A., Kwiat, K., “On the Feasibility of an Open-Implementation Cloud Infrastructure: A Game Theoretic Analysis” in the proceedings of the 2015 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Utility and Cloud Computing (UCC 2015), Limassol, Cyprus, December 2015.

[18] Richards, C., Certain to Win: The Strategy of John Boyd Applied to Business, Xlibris, 2004.

RELEASE STATEMENT

Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited: 88ABW-2015-5203 20151026

Authors

Dr. Kevin A. Kwiat
Dr. Kevin A. Kwiat
Dr. Kevin A. Kwiat is a Principal Computer Engineer in the Cyber Assurance Branch of the AFRL in Rome, NY where he has worked for over 28 years. He received his B.S. in Computer Science, B.A. in Mathematics from Utica College of Syracuse University, as well as his M.S. in Computer Engineering and the Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University. He is an NRC Adviser, acting as a surrogate of the NRC in monitoring his designated research associates and all matters relating to an associate’s research program fall under his purview.
Charles A. Kamhoua
Charles A. Kamhoua
Charles A. Kamhoua is a researcher at the Network Security Branch of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in Adelphi, MD, where he is responsible for conducting and directing basic research in the area of game theory applied to cyber security. Prior to joining the Army Research Laboratory, he was a researcher at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Rome, New York for 6 years and an educator in different academic institutions for more than 10 years. He has held visiting research positions at the University of Oxford and Harvard University. He has co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers. He has presented over 40 invited keynote and distinguished speeches and has co-organized over 10 conferences and workshops. He has mentored more than 50 young scholars, including students, postdocs, and AFRL Summer Faculty Fellowship scholars. He has been recognized for his scholarship and leadership with numerous prestigious awards, including the 2017 AFRL Information Directorate Basic Research Award “For Outstanding Achievements in Basic Research,” the 2017 Fred I. Diamond Award for the best paper published at AFRL’s Information Directorate, 40 Air Force Notable Achievement Awards, the 2016 FIU Charles E. Perry Young Alumni Visionary Award, the 2015 Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA), the 2015 NSBE Golden Torch Award—Pioneer of the Year, and selection to the 2015 Heidelberg Laureate Forum, to name a few. He received a B.S. in electronics from the University of Douala (ENSET), Cameroon, in 1999, an M.S. in Telecommunication and Networking from Florida International University (FIU) in 2008, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from FIU in 2011. He is currently an advisor for the National Research Council, a member of the FIU alumni association and ACM, and a senior member of IEEE.

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