On achieving software diversity for improved network security using distributed coloring algorithms

It is widely believed that diversity in operating systems, software packages, and hardware platforms will decrease the virulence of worms and the effectiveness of repeated applications of single attacks. Research efforts in the field have focused on introducing diversity using a variety of techniques on a system-by-system basis. This paper, on the other hand, assumes the availability of diverse software packages for each system and then seeks to increase the intrinsic value of available diversity by considering the entire computer network. We present several distributed algorithms for the assignment of distinct software packages to individual systems and analyze their performance. Our goal is to limit the ability of a malicious node to use a single attack to compromise its neighboring nodes, and by extension, the rest of the nodes in the network. The algorithms themselves are analyzed for attack tolerance, and strategies for improving the security of the individual software assignm...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: CCS
• Authors: Adam J. O'Donnell, Harish Sethu
• Keywords: Attack Tolerance, CCS 2004, Security Privacy, Single Attack, Software Packages