Blog: Protecting Networks Is Just a Game

Protecting Networks Is Just a Game
EurekAlert (07/27/11)

A defensive strategy for computer networks based on game theory is more effective than previous methods, says Iona College information technologist Heechang Shin, who developed an anti-hacking tool that plays a game of reality versus forecast. Called defensive forecasting, the tool wins when reality matches its forecast, and then sends out an alert to block an attempt to attack the computer network. The tool works on real-time data flowing in and out of the network, rather than analyzing logs, and detects intrusions as they are happening. Shin's game theory model continuously trains the tool so that it can recognize the patterns of typical network attacks. To measure the effectiveness of the tool, Shin compared it using the semi-synthetic dataset generated from a raw TCP/IP dump data by simulating a typical U.S. Air Force local-area network to a network intrusion system based on a support vector machine (SVM), which is one of the best classification methods for detection. During testing, the tool was as good or better than one based on SVM for detecting network intrusion while adding the benefits of real-time detection.

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