40 research outputs found
Three Decades of Deception Techniques in Active Cyber Defense -- Retrospect and Outlook
Deception techniques have been widely seen as a game changer in cyber
defense. In this paper, we review representative techniques in honeypots,
honeytokens, and moving target defense, spanning from the late 1980s to the
year 2021. Techniques from these three domains complement with each other and
may be leveraged to build a holistic deception based defense. However, to the
best of our knowledge, there has not been a work that provides a systematic
retrospect of these three domains all together and investigates their
integrated usage for orchestrated deceptions. Our paper aims to fill this gap.
By utilizing a tailored cyber kill chain model which can reflect the current
threat landscape and a four-layer deception stack, a two-dimensional taxonomy
is developed, based on which the deception techniques are classified. The
taxonomy literally answers which phases of a cyber attack campaign the
techniques can disrupt and which layers of the deception stack they belong to.
Cyber defenders may use the taxonomy as a reference to design an organized and
comprehensive deception plan, or to prioritize deception efforts for a budget
conscious solution. We also discuss two important points for achieving active
and resilient cyber defense, namely deception in depth and deception lifecycle,
where several notable proposals are illustrated. Finally, some outlooks on
future research directions are presented, including dynamic integration of
different deception techniques, quantified deception effects and deception
operation cost, hardware-supported deception techniques, as well as techniques
developed based on better understanding of the human element.Comment: 19 page
A Privacy-Preserving, Context-Aware, Insider Threat prevention and prediction model (PPCAITPP)
The insider threat problem is extremely challenging to address, as it is committed by insiders who are
trusted and authorized to access the information resources of the organization. The problem is further
complicated by the multifaceted nature of insiders, as human beings have various motivations and
fluctuating behaviours. Additionally, typical monitoring systems may violate the privacy of insiders.
Consequently, there is a need to consider a comprehensive approach to mitigate insider threats. This
research presents a novel insider threat prevention and prediction model, combining several approaches,
techniques and tools from the fields of computer science and criminology. The model is a Privacy-
Preserving, Context-Aware, Insider Threat Prevention and Prediction model (PPCAITPP). The model is
predicated on the Fraud Diamond (a theory from Criminology) which assumes there must be four elements
present in order for a criminal to commit maleficence. The basic elements are pressure (i.e. motive),
opportunity, ability (i.e. capability) and rationalization. According to the Fraud Diamond, malicious
employees need to have a motive, opportunity and the capability to commit fraud. Additionally, criminals
tend to rationalize their malicious actions in order for them to ease their cognitive dissonance towards
maleficence. In order to mitigate the insider threat comprehensively, there is a need to consider all the
elements of the Fraud Diamond because insider threat crime is also related to elements of the Fraud
Diamond similar to crimes committed within the physical landscape.
The model intends to act within context, which implies that when the model offers predictions about threats,
it also reacts to prevent the threat from becoming a future threat instantaneously. To collect information
about insiders for the purposes of prediction, there is a need to collect current information, as the motives
and behaviours of humans are transient. Context-aware systems are used in the model to collect current
information about insiders related to motive and ability as well as to determine whether insiders exploit any
opportunity to commit a crime (i.e. entrapment). Furthermore, they are used to neutralize any
rationalizations the insider may have via neutralization mitigation, thus preventing the insider from
committing a future crime. However, the model collects private information and involves entrapment that
will be deemed unethical. A model that does not preserve the privacy of insiders may cause them to feel
they are not trusted, which in turn may affect their productivity in the workplace negatively. Hence, this
thesis argues that an insider prediction model must be privacy-preserving in order to prevent further
cybercrime. The model is not intended to be punitive but rather a strategy to prevent current insiders from
being tempted to commit a crime in future.
The model involves four major components: context awareness, opportunity facilitation, neutralization
mitigation and privacy preservation. The model implements a context analyser to collect information related
to an insider who may be motivated to commit a crime and his or her ability to implement an attack plan.
The context analyser only collects meta-data such as search behaviour, file access, logins, use of keystrokes
and linguistic features, excluding the content to preserve the privacy of insiders. The model also employs
keystroke and linguistic features based on typing patterns to collect information about any change in an
insider’s emotional and stress levels. This is indirectly related to the motivation to commit a cybercrime.
Research demonstrates that most of the insiders who have committed a crime have experienced a negative
emotion/pressure resulting from dissatisfaction with employment measures such as terminations, transfers
without their consent or denial of a wage increase. However, there may also be personal problems such as a
divorce. The typing pattern analyser and other resource usage behaviours aid in identifying an insider who
may be motivated to commit a cybercrime based on his or her stress levels and emotions as well as the
change in resource usage behaviour. The model does not identify the motive itself, but rather identifies those
individuals who may be motivated to commit a crime by reviewing their computer-based actions. The model
also assesses the capability of insiders to commit a planned attack based on their usage of computer
applications and measuring their sophistication in terms of the range of knowledge, depth of knowledge and
skill as well as assessing the number of systems errors and warnings generated while using the applications.
The model will facilitate an opportunity to commit a crime by using honeypots to determine whether a
motivated and capable insider will exploit any opportunity in the organization involving a criminal act.
Based on the insider’s reaction to the opportunity presented via a honeypot, the model will deploy an
implementation strategy based on neutralization mitigation. Neutralization mitigation is the process of
nullifying the rationalizations that the insider may have had for committing the crime. All information about
insiders will be anonymized to remove any identifiers for the purpose of preserving the privacy of insiders.
The model also intends to identify any new behaviour that may result during the course of implementation.
This research contributes to existing scientific knowledge in the insider threat domain and can be used as a
point of departure for future researchers in the area. Organizations could use the model as a framework to
design and develop a comprehensive security solution for insider threat problems. The model concept can
also be integrated into existing information security systems that address the insider threat problemInformation ScienceD. Phil. (Information Systems
Deep Down the Rabbit Hole: On References in Networks of Decoy Elements
Deception technology has proven to be a sound approach against threats to
information systems. Aside from well-established honeypots, decoy elements,
also known as honeytokens, are an excellent method to address various types of
threats. Decoy elements are causing distraction and uncertainty to an attacker
and help detecting malicious activity. Deception is meant to be complementing
firewalls and intrusion detection systems. Particularly insider threats may be
mitigated with deception methods. While current approaches consider the use of
multiple decoy elements as well as context-sensitivity, they do not
sufficiently describe a relationship between individual elements. In this work,
inter-referencing decoy elements are introduced as a plausible extension to
existing deception frameworks, leading attackers along a path of decoy
elements. A theoretical foundation is introduced, as well as a stochastic model
and a reference implementation. It was found that the proposed system is
suitable to enhance current decoy frameworks by adding a further dimension of
inter-connectivity and therefore improve intrusion detection and prevention
Identifying and Preventing Insider Threats
Insider threats, or attacks against a company from within, are a pressing issue both domestically and internationally. Frequencies of these threats increase each year adding to the overall importance of further research analysis. In fact, many case studies have been conducted which state that these employees who participate in insider attacks tend to exhibit certain personality and characteristic traits, as well as certain observable behaviors, that would indicate to other employees that an attack is imminent. It is hypothesized that companies will be able to take a more preventative stance of security as opposed to a reactive stance by identifying these characteristics and behaviors, as well as the motivations that drive them. In order to accomplish this task, companies must implement multiple layers of technological means of security, as well as take a more hands-on, holistic approach with company-wide involvement
Modeling Deception for Cyber Security
In the era of software-intensive, smart and connected systems, the growing power and so-
phistication of cyber attacks poses increasing challenges to software security. The reactive
posture of traditional security mechanisms, such as anti-virus and intrusion detection
systems, has not been sufficient to combat a wide range of advanced persistent threats
that currently jeopardize systems operation. To mitigate these extant threats, more ac-
tive defensive approaches are necessary. Such approaches rely on the concept of actively
hindering and deceiving attackers. Deceptive techniques allow for additional defense by
thwarting attackers’ advances through the manipulation of their perceptions. Manipu-
lation is achieved through the use of deceitful responses, feints, misdirection, and other
falsehoods in a system. Of course, such deception mechanisms may result in side-effects
that must be handled. Current methods for planning deception chiefly portray attempts
to bridge military deception to cyber deception, providing only high-level instructions
that largely ignore deception as part of the software security development life cycle. Con-
sequently, little practical guidance is provided on how to engineering deception-based
techniques for defense. This PhD thesis contributes with a systematic approach to specify
and design cyber deception requirements, tactics, and strategies. This deception approach
consists of (i) a multi-paradigm modeling for representing deception requirements, tac-
tics, and strategies, (ii) a reference architecture to support the integration of deception
strategies into system operation, and (iii) a method to guide engineers in deception mod-
eling. A tool prototype, a case study, and an experimental evaluation show encouraging
results for the application of the approach in practice. Finally, a conceptual coverage map-
ping was developed to assess the expressivity of the deception modeling language created.Na era digital o crescente poder e sofisticação dos ataques cibernéticos apresenta constan-
tes desafios para a segurança do software. A postura reativa dos mecanismos tradicionais
de segurança, como os sistemas antivírus e de detecção de intrusão, não têm sido suficien-
tes para combater a ampla gama de ameaças que comprometem a operação dos sistemas
de software actuais. Para mitigar estas ameaças são necessárias abordagens ativas de
defesa. Tais abordagens baseiam-se na ideia de adicionar mecanismos para enganar os
adversários (do inglês deception). As técnicas de enganação (em português, "ato ou efeito
de enganar, de induzir em erro; artimanha usada para iludir") contribuem para a defesa
frustrando o avanço dos atacantes por manipulação das suas perceções. A manipula-
ção é conseguida através de respostas enganadoras, de "fintas", ou indicações erróneas
e outras falsidades adicionadas intencionalmente num sistema. É claro que esses meca-
nismos de enganação podem resultar em efeitos colaterais que devem ser tratados. Os
métodos atuais usados para enganar um atacante inspiram-se fundamentalmente nas
técnicas da área militar, fornecendo apenas instruções de alto nível que ignoram, em
grande parte, a enganação como parte do ciclo de vida do desenvolvimento de software
seguro. Consequentemente, há poucas referências práticas em como gerar técnicas de
defesa baseadas em enganação. Esta tese de doutoramento contribui com uma aborda-
gem sistemática para especificar e desenhar requisitos, táticas e estratégias de enganação
cibernéticas. Esta abordagem é composta por (i) uma modelação multi-paradigma para re-
presentar requisitos, táticas e estratégias de enganação, (ii) uma arquitetura de referência
para apoiar a integração de estratégias de enganação na operação dum sistema, e (iii) um
método para orientar os engenheiros na modelação de enganação. Uma ferramenta protó-
tipo, um estudo de caso e uma avaliação experimental mostram resultados encorajadores
para a aplicação da abordagem na prática. Finalmente, a expressividade da linguagem
de modelação de enganação é avaliada por um mapeamento de cobertura de conceitos
Using Deception to Enhance Security: A Taxonomy, Model, and Novel Uses
As the convergence between our physical and digital worlds continue at a rapid pace, securing our digital information is vital to our prosperity. Most current typical computer systems are unwittingly helpful to attackers through their predictable responses. In everyday security, deception plays a prominent role in our lives and digital security is no different. The use of deception has been a cornerstone technique in many successful computer breaches. Phishing, social engineering, and drive-by-downloads are some prime examples. The work in this dissertation is structured to enhance the security of computer systems by using means of deception and deceit