Evidence Based Cybersecurity

The prevalence of cyber-dependent crimes and illegal activities that can only be performed using a computer, computer networks, or other forms of information communication technology has significantly increased during the last two decades in the USA and worldwide. As a result, cybersecurity scholars and practitioners have developed various tools and policies to reduce individuals' and organizations' risk of experiencing cyber-dependent crimes. However, although cybersecurity research and tools production efforts have increased substantially, very little attention has been devoted to identifying potential comprehensive interventions that consider both human and technical aspects of the local ecology within which these crimes emerge and persist. Moreover, it appears that rigorous scientific assessments of these technologies and policies "in the wild" have been dismissed in the process of encouraging innovation and marketing. Consequently, governmental organizations, public, and private companies allocate a considerable portion of their operations budgets to protecting their computer and internet infrastructures without understanding the effectiveness of various tools and policies in reducing the myriad of risks they face. Unfortunately, this practice may complicate organizational workflows and increase costs for government entities, businesses, and consumers. The success of the evidence-based approach in improving performance in a wide range of professions (for example, medicine, policing, and education) leads us to believe that an evidence-based cybersecurity approach is critical for improving cybersecurity efforts. This book seeks to explain the foundation of the evidence-based cybersecurity approach, review its relevance in the context of existing security tools and policies, and provide concrete examples of how adopting this approach could improve cybersecurity operations and guide policymakers' decision-making process. The evidence-based cybersecurity approach explained aims to support security professionals', policymakers', and individual computer users' decision-making regarding the deployment of security policies and tools by calling for rigorous scientific investigations of the effectiveness of these policies and mechanisms in achieving their goals to protect critical assets. This book illustrates how this approach provides an ideal framework for conceptualizing an interdisciplinary problem like cybersecurity because it stresses moving beyond decision-makers' political, financial, social, and personal experience backgrounds when adopting cybersecurity tools and policies. This approach is also a model in which policy decisions are made based on scientific research findings.

Research Methods for Cyber Security teaches scientific methods for generating impactful knowledge, validating theories, and adding critical rigor to the cyber security field. This book shows how to develop a research plan, beginning by starting research with a question, then offers an introduction to the broad range of useful research methods for cyber security research: observational, mathematical, experimental, and applied. Each research method chapter concludes with recommended outlines and suggested templates for submission to peer reviewed venues. This book concludes with information on cross-cutting issues within cyber security research. Cyber security research contends with numerous unique issues, such as an extremely fast environment evolution, adversarial behavior, and the merging of natural and social science phenomena. Research Methods for Cyber Security addresses these concerns and much more by teaching readers not only the process of science in the context of cyber security research, but providing assistance in execution of research as well. Presents research methods from a cyber security science perspective Catalyzes the rigorous research necessary to propel the cyber security field forward Provides a guided method selection for the type of research being conducted, presented in the context of real-world usage

Attaining meaningful cybersecurity presents a broad societal challenge. Its complexity and the range of systems and sectors in which it is needed mean that successful approaches are necessarily multifaceted. Moreover, cybersecurity is a dynamic process involving human attackers who continue to adapt. Despite considerable investments of resources and intellect, cybersecurity continues to poses serious challenges to national security, business performance, and public well-being. Modern developments in computation, storage and connectivity to the Internet have brought into even sharper focus the need for a better understanding of the overall security of the systems we depend on. Foundational Cybersecurity Research focuses on foundational research strategies for organizing people, technologies, and governance. These strategies seek to ensure the sustained support needed to create an agile, effective research community, with collaborative links across disciplines and between research and practice. This report is aimed primarily at the cybersecurity research community, but takes a broad view that efforts to improve foundational cybersecurity research will need to include many disciplines working together to achieve common goals.

Deploying the scientific method in cybersecurity today is a common-sense approach that is a tough topic in the field of cybersecurity. While most publications in the field emphasize that scientific principles are necessary, there are very few, if any, guides that uncover these principles.This book will give readers practical tools for cybersecurity. It examines the path of developing cybersecurity foundations while taking into account uncertain data. Extensive examples demonstrate how to deploy cybersecurity to sort our day-to-day problems. Using Science in Cybersecurity is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and practitioners in the fields of cybersecurity, information security, and science of cybersecurity.

CYBER INVESTIGATIONS A classroom tested introduction to cyber investigations with real-life examples included Cyber Investigations provides an introduction to the topic, an overview of the investigation process applied to cyber investigations, a review of legal aspects of cyber investigations, a review of Internet forensics and open-source intelligence, a research-based chapter on anonymization, and a deep-dive in to multimedia forensics. The content is structured in a consistent manner, with an emphasis on accessibility for students of computer science, information security, law enforcement, and military disciplines. To aid in reader comprehension and seamless assimilation of the material, real-life examples and student exercises are provided throughout, as well as an Educational Guide for both teachers and students. The material has been classroom-tested and is a perfect fit for most learning environments. Written by a highly experienced author team with backgrounds in law enforcement, academic research, and industry, sample topics covered in Cyber Investigations include: The cyber investigation process, including developing an integrated framework for cyber investigations and principles for the integrated cyber investigation process (ICIP) Cyber investigation law, including reasonable grounds to open a criminal cyber investigation and general conditions for privacy-invasive cyber investigation methods Perspectives of internet and cryptocurrency investigations, including examples like the proxy seller, the scammer, and the disgruntled employee Internet of things (IoT) investigations, including types of events leading to IoT investigations and new forensic challenges in the field Multimedia forensics facilitates the understanding of the role of multimedia in investigations, including how to leverage similarity matching, content-based tracing, and media metadata. Anonymization networks discusses how such networks work, and how they impact investigations? It addresses aspects of tracing, monitoring, evidence acquisition, de-anonymization, and large investigations Based on research, teaching material, experiences, and student feedback over several years, Cyber Investigations is ideal for all students and professionals in the cybersecurity industry, providing comprehensive subject coverage from faculty, associates, and former students of cyber security and digital forensics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Attaining meaningful cybersecurity presents a broad societal challenge. Its complexity and the range of systems and sectors in which it is needed mean that successful approaches are necessarily multifaceted. Moreover, cybersecurity is a dynamic process involving human attackers who continue to adapt. Despite considerable investments of resources and intellect, cybersecurity continues to poses serious challenges to national security, business performance, and public well-being. Modern developments in computation, storage and connectivity to the Internet have brought into even sharper focus the need for a better understanding of the overall security of the systems we depend on. Foundational Cybersecurity Research focuses on foundational research strategies for organizing people, technologies, and governance. These strategies seek to ensure the sustained support needed to create an agile, effective research community, with collaborative links across disciplines and between research and practice. This report is aimed primarily at the cybersecurity research community, but takes a broad view that efforts to improve foundational cybersecurity research will need to include many disciplines working together to achieve common goals.

We depend on information and information technology (IT) to make many of our day-to-day tasks easier and more convenient. Computers play key roles in transportation, health care, banking, and energy. Businesses use IT for payroll and accounting, inventory and sales, and research and development. Modern military forces use weapons that are increasingly coordinated through computer-based networks. Cybersecurity is vital to protecting all of these functions. Cyberspace is vulnerable to a broad spectrum of hackers, criminals, terrorists, and state actors. Working in cyberspace, these malevolent actors can steal money, intellectual property, or classified information; impersonate law-abiding parties for their own purposes; damage important data; or deny the availability of normally accessible services. Cybersecurity issues arise because of three factors taken together - the presence of malevolent actors in cyberspace, societal reliance on IT for many important functions, and the presence of vulnerabilities in IT systems. What steps can policy makers take to protect our government, businesses, and the public from those would take advantage of system vulnerabilities? At the Nexus of Cybersecurity and Public Policy offers a wealth of information on practical measures, technical and nontechnical challenges, and potential policy responses. According to this report, cybersecurity is a never-ending battle; threats will evolve as adversaries adopt new tools and techniques to compromise security. Cybersecurity is therefore an ongoing process that needs to evolve as new threats are identified. At the Nexus of Cybersecurity and Public Policy is a call for action to make cybersecurity a public safety priority. For a number of years, the cybersecurity issue has received increasing public attention; however, most policy focus has been on the short-term costs of improving systems. In its explanation of the fundamentals of cybersecurity and the discussion of potential policy responses, this book will be a resource for policy makers, cybersecurity and IT professionals, and anyone who wants to understand threats to cyberspace.

"Future-oriented questions are woven through the study and practice of international security. The 48 essays collected in this Handbook use such questions to provide a tour of the most innovative and exciting new areas of research as well as major developments in established lines of inquiry. The results of their efforts are: the definitive statement of the state of international security and the academic field of security studies, a comprehensive portrait of expert assessments of expected developments in international security at the onset of the twenty-first century's second decade, and a crucial staging ground for future research agendas." --Descripción del editor.

If you’re involved in cybersecurity as a software developer, forensic investigator, or network administrator, this practical guide shows you how to apply the scientific method when assessing techniques for protecting your information systems. You’ll learn how to conduct scientific experiments on everyday tools and procedures, whether you’re evaluating corporate security systems, testing your own security product, or looking for bugs in a mobile game. Once author Josiah Dykstra gets you up to speed on the scientific method, he helps you focus on standalone, domain-specific topics, such as cryptography, malware analysis, and system security engineering. The latter chapters include practical case studies that demonstrate how to use available tools to conduct domain-specific scientific experiments. Learn the steps necessary to conduct scientific experiments in cybersecurity Explore fuzzing to test how your software handles various inputs Measure the performance of the Snort intrusion detection system Locate malicious “needles in a haystack” in your network and IT environment Evaluate cryptography design and application in IoT products Conduct an experiment to identify relationships between similar malware binaries Understand system-level security requirements for enterprise networks and web services