Science of Security (SoS) Lablet

funded by the U.S. National Security Agency

researchers: William H. Sanders (PI), David M. Nicol

The Science of Security Lablet is contributing broadly to the development of security science while leveraging Illinois expertise in resiliency, which in this context means a system’s demonstrable ability to maintain security properties even during ongoing cyber attacks. The Lablet’s work draws on several fundamental areas of computing research. Some ideas from fault-tolerant computing can be adapted to the context of security. Strategies from control theory are being extended to account for the high variation and uncertainty that may be present in systems when they are under attack. Game theory and decision theory principles are being used to explore the interplay between attack and defense. Formal methods are being applied to develop formal notions of resiliency. End-to-end system analysis is being employed to investigate resiliency of large systems against cyber attack. The Lablet’s work also draws upon ideas from other areas of mathematics and engineering as well.

Projects currently funded through the SoS Lablet include the following:

• An Automated Synthesis Framework for Network Security and Resilience Analysis, Matt Caesar and Dong (Kevin) Jin, IIT

• A Monitoring Fusion and Response Framework to Provide Cyber Resiliency, William Sanders

• Uncertainty in Security Analysis, David Nicol

Visit the Illinois Science of Security Lablet site to learn more.