Defensive Terrain in Defensive Terrain in CyberspaceCyberspace

Thomas Pingel

January 31, 2002

Advisor: Sara Fabrikant

Committee?

AgendaTry to take over the world.

Agenda For Today’s Talk

Explain research question and rationale Assuage your fears Discuss Methods

Research Questions

How does the spatial arrangement of a computer network impact its security properties?

How do such arrangements compare with human defense strategies that rely on control of territory?

What explains the similarities and differences?

Rationale

Networks have a path/node structure Different spatial arrangements Spatial patterns affect data flows Current network defense includes

– Segmentation– Isolation– control over information flows

Similarity to human defense strategies of territory

What Is the Role of Geography?

Historical ties to analyzing how the medium of conflict impacts the outcome of contests of force– terrain analysis, Global politics, military geography

Heavy use of language of physical security – Firewalls, bastion hosts, choke points

Computer networks – geographic space – topology – Spatial analysis of that topology

Visualizations

Compare to Physical Security

Sources– Geography (O’Sullivan)– U.S. Army (FM 5-33) – historical records of battles

Identify– Obstacles– Cover– Concealment

Game simulations as a model Comparison to spatial games

– Chess & Go

Defensive Terrain in CyberspaceIs it Terrain, Is it Like Terrain, and What

Difference Does It Make?

Oxford English Dictionary says: 2a. A tract of country considered with regard to

its natural features, configuration, etc.; … in military use esp. as affecting its tactical

advantages, fitness for maneuvering, etc. So… Terrain is the irregularity and configuration

of the medium

Defensive Terrain in CyberspaceIs it Terrain, Is it Like Terrain, and What

Difference Does It Make?

U.S. Army explicitly calls its network defenses “cyberterrain” (and they should know).

The network topology affects how movement occurs; it is a medium of conflict.

It is a terrain. The question is, do the network medium and earth medium influence the use of force in similar ways?

An Example: The Game of Risk

Risk is a strategic board game 6 populated continents divided into 42

territories Armies occupy territories Each territory can attack only adjacent

territories Spatial distribution of territories and troops

affects the outcome of the game

Standard Risk Board

Occupied Risk Board

Risk With Node/Link Structure

Risk Topology

ARPANET, 1969 &1977

Internet 1999

Literature Review – Putting The Pieces Together

An interdisciplinary project – Time to absorb more disciplines!

Geography– spatial & network analysis– historical involvement in security design– terrain analysis

Computer Science– technical knowledge – resources for network simulation and testing– theoretical research in computer security

Other– Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, …

Methods

Gather data – Obstacle behavior– Cover and concealment

Evaluate– Compare terrain with security information

Compare – military geography

Methods: Obstacles

Data Source– A 16 host network test bed– Record of network based attacks on routers

with complete traffic records

Analyze traffic records with GIS network analysis (and other?) techniques.

Methods: Cover and Concealment

Data Source– A real, working network– Use of intrusion detection and port scanning

software Looking for a measure of visibility of a

host as well as intrusion data Difficulty looking for volunteer network

due to sensitive information.

Thanks for ListeningThanks for Listening

I hope you enjoyed it