Friend or Faux: Deception for Cyber Defense
Abstract:
Defensive deception provides promise in rebalancing the asymmetry of cybersecurity. It makes an attacker’s job harder because it does more than just block access; it impacts the decision making causing him or her to waste time and effort as well as expose his or her presence in the network. Pilot studies conducted by NSA research demonstrated the plausibility and necessity for metrics of success including difficulty attacking the system, behavioral changes caused, cognitive and emotional reactions aroused, and attacker strategy changes due to deception. Designing reliable and valid measures of effectiveness is a worthy (though often overlooked) goal for industry and government alike.
AUTHORS
Information Assurance Research National Security Agency Fort George G. Meade, MD
U.S.A.
Kimberly Ferguson-Walter is a Senior Researcher with the National Security Agency’s Information Assurance Research. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Information and Computer Science from the University of California Irvine and a master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, both specializing in artificial intelligence. Her research interests are focused on the intersection of computer science and human behavior. She has been focused on adaptive cybersecurity for the past seven years and is the lead for the Research Directorate’s deception for cyber-defense effort.
Cybersecurity Operations National Security Agency Fort George G. Meade, MD
U.S.A.
Dr. Dana S. LaFon serves as the Senior Authority for Behavioral Science for the National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Operations. Following a career in computer systems analysis, she earned a clinical doctorate in Psychology and joined the NSA almost 15 years ago. She is presently assigned to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit for Cyber where she leads the development of contemporary investigative methodologies by applying behavioral science in the cyber domain and serves as a USG Senior Scientist for FBI sponsored ODNI Postdoctoral Fellowship behavioral research.
Information Assurance Research National Security Agency Fort George G. Meade, MD, U.S.A
Dr. Temmie Shade is a Senior Behavioral Scientist with the National Security Agency’s Information Assurance Research. Prior to joining the NSA a little over 11 years ago, she was a clinician, clinical practice manager, and an adjunct associate professor. She earned a master’s degree in Education from the University of Houston and a doctorate in Psychology from Texas Woman’s University. Her current research interests are focused on applying behavioral science to cybersecurity.
Published In
Journal of Information Warfare
The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.
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