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Metrics for V&V of cyber defenses

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Abstract

There is a need for a disciplined approach for evaluating a cyber defense prior to its introduction into an operational environment. This is necessary to assess whether the benefits of the defense will be worth its costs and risks. A traditional V&V workflow is adapted for this purpose. The considerations it must take into account are described, as is the collection and presentation of pertinent metrics. An example of this workflow is given for a cyber defense against a “reconnaissance attack” that threatens information integrity and confidentiality.

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Acknowledgments

This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We gratefully acknowledge the members of JPL’s Cyber Defense Research Initiative for many fruitful discussions, use of their test environment and infrastructure, and use of their illustrative “reconnaissance attack.”

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Correspondence to Martin S. Feather.

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Feather, M.S., Wilf, J.M. & Priest, J. Metrics for V&V of cyber defenses. Innovations Syst Softw Eng 12, 81–94 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11334-015-0261-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11334-015-0261-7

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