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ti ur
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Society is increasingly
in unbounded neiwork
environments. Survivability
C
mitemporary large-scale distributed nctworks arc hciiig used to
achieve radical new levels of organizational inrcgration. This intc- helps ensure that such systems
gration obliterates traditional organizational boundaries and tics
local operations into components of comprchcnsivc, nctworli-bascd busi-
licss proccsscs. or example, commercial organizations are integrating oper- deliver essential services and
ations with I1usincss uriits, suppliers, and cworners through large-scalc
networks that enhance communication and scrviccs. Tlicsc iictworks com-
biiic previously fiaginclltcci operations into coherent proccsscs opctlto maintain essential properties
many organizational participants, This ncw paradigm rcprcsents a shift
from bounded networks with central contml CO unbounded networks,
whcrc adrniiiistrativc colltrol is distributed wiihout central autlioriiy (see in the face of attclcks, failures,
the sidebar "Glossary [1ESurvivahility 'Terms" oti pagc 56).
Organizational integration is accompanicd by elevated risks ofinrru-
sion and compromisc. 'I'hesc risks can be mitigatecI by incorporating sur- and accidents,
vivability capabilities into a n organization's systems. Survivability is the
capability of a system tu fulfill its missioti in a tiincly mauiicr i n the pres-
CIKC of attacks, failurrs, o r accidmts. l ' h c cmphasis of survivaldity is on
continuity of opcrations, with the undcrsvauditig that sccurity precautions
cannot guaraiitcc that systrms will not be penctrated and compromiard.
Survivability focuses on utibouiidcd networked sysiems whcrc traditional
srcurity mcasurcs arc inaderluatc. As an emcrging discipline, it builds on
related fields of srudy (such as security fault tolerance, reliahility and vcr-
itication) and introduccs new coiiccpts and principles.
M I S S I O N FULFILLMENT
In survivability ciiginccring, it is the fiilfillmcni of a mission that niust SLIT-
vive an attack, not any particular suhsystnn or system component. A mir-
sion is a sct ofvcry 11igh level I-equiremcntsor gaals. Missions are not limited
to military settings; any successful organizatioii or project must have a vision
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S U R V I V A B L E S Y S l E M S
of its objeciives, whcthcr they arc cxpre~~cd implic- With respect to systcm survivability, diatinctioris
itly or as a formal mission statement. Judgments as between a t t a c h , failures, and accidents arc less
to whether or not a mission has hrcn fulfilled arc important than the event's impact. Our survivabili-
typically made i n thr context of cxtcriial conditions ty approach conccntratcs on the effect of a potcn-
that may affect the achievement of t h a t mission's tially damaging event. Iypically, Cor a system to stir-
goals. Tinielitiess is typically included in (or implied vive, it mist react to (and tecovct from) a damaging
by) the very high level requirements tliat define a effect (for cxample, rhe integrity of a database is a n i -
missioii. Mowcvcr, timrlinrss is such a n important promised) long hefore the rinderlying came is iden-
factor that it is explicit i n the dcfinitiuii of surviv- tified. In fnct, the reaction and rccovety tiinst be suc-
ability. crssful whcthcr or not thc Cause is ever determined.
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P R O T E C T I N G C R I T I C A L S Y S T E M S
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S U R V I V A B L E S Y S l E M S
Today, howrver, systems are open, with no one per- oiny virtually etistires that the civilian networkcd
son or organization having administraiive control, information infrrastructurc and its vulticrahilities
and with any observer-whethcr inside or outside will always be an inseparable part of a country's
thc systetn-having only limited visibility into the natiunal dcfcnsc.6
structnre, extent, and topology of thc system. Practical, affordable systems arc almost nevcr
Much of today's research and practice in c o n - complctcly custom-hnilt, but rather are construct-
putcr system survivability lakes a security-based ed from cummonly available commcrcial off-thc-
view of defensc against computcr attacks. The tra- shclf (COTS) components. Thc trcnd toward
ditional firewall concept3 has been cxpanded into developing systems through integration and rcusc
what arc called boundmy controllers. For cxample, a rather than customized design and coding is a cor-
secure Dcpartnieiit of Defensc domain might nsc nerstone of modcm software engineering. Unfor-
commercial and nonsecure products fot general- tunatcly, the intellectual complexity associared with
pitpose computing, with boundary controllers software design, coding, and testing virtually
such as thc Naval Research Laboratory pump4 r n s n r ~ thc
s prcsence of hugs in COTS components
that can he exploited by aitackers. Thcsc hugs can
and will be discovered in comnicrcial and puhlic-
domain products whosc internal structures arc
The overall function of a widely available and hcncc ~ a i be
i analyzed by thosc
who wish to exploit the wcakncsscs. When thcsr
system should adapt to preserve products arc incarporatcd as compinirnts oflargcr
essential services. systems, those systems becomc vulnerable to attack
srrategics bascd on the exploitable bugs, making it
possible fot a single-attack strategy to have a widc-
ranging and devastating impact.
moving data among domains with diffcring secu-
rity policies. The Java security in particu- SURVIVABILITY OF ESSENTIAL
lar the sandbox, applies a similar kind of isolation SERVICES AND PROPERTIES
IO imported Java components so that their func- I<cy to thc concept of survivability is the identifi-
tionality can he limited to inaintaiu a sccure envi- cation of csscniial scrvicrs, and thc csscntial ptop-
ronmcnt. cities that support thcm, within an operational sy~.
For survivability, this kind of approach is incum- tcm. Essential services arc &fined as the Iunctions
plete because it Socuses almost cxclusivcly on pre- of thc sysicm that initst bc inaintaincd to m e e t thr
vcntion (that is, hardening a system to prevcrit a mission requirements when the cnvi~nimcntis
break-in or other malicious attack). I t does little to hostile, or when failurcs or accidents occur that
hrlp an organization dctect an attack or tecover thrcatcn the system.
after a successful amck has occnrrcd. 'l'his securi- To maintain their capability to dclivcr cssential
ty-focused view is also limited by evaluation tcch- services, survivahlc systems must exhibit four kcy
niques that conccntratc 011 the relative hardness of properties (sccTablc I ) :
a system-as opposcrd to a systcrn's rnhustness
undcr attack, irs ahility to rccovcr coinpromiscd w resistance tn attacks,
capabilities, or its ability to function correctly in recognition [if attacks,
the prcscncc of compromised componcnis. w fnll rccovcry ofessential srrviccs aftct attack, and
adaptation and evolution to reducc cffcctive-
Affordability and COTS Components ness of Suture attacks.
Affordability is always a significant Factor i n the
design, implemeotation, and maintcnance of sys- 'There arc typically many services that can be t a m
tcms, and it cncuuragcs sharing and replication of porarily suspcnded while a system deals with an
components. That sharing cxtcnds to the national attack or other extraordinary environmental con-
infiastructure (for example, the power grid, the dition. Such a suspension can help isolate area that
public switched communications nctworks, and tbr have hccn affected hy an intrusion and can fiec up
financial networks) and to national dcfcnsc. In fact, system rcsonrccs to deal with thc intrusionh effccts.
the trend toward incrcascd sharing of common The overall function of a system should adapt to
infrastructnrc components in thr interest of ccon- prcscrve esscntial serviccs.
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P R O l E C l I N G C R I T I C A L S Y S T f M S
Central to the delivery oressential scrvices is the cation links art: incapacitated because of an intru-
capahility ofa systcm to maintain eiientiaipro/,erties sion, failure, or accident, and t h a t recovcis coni-
(that is, specified levels of quality attributes such as promised information and scrviccs in a timely
integrity, confidentiality, and performance). Thus, mantier. The financial system's survivability might
it is imporrant tn definc niinimum lcvels o f quali- he judgrd using a composite rneasurc of the dis-
ty attributes that must bc associated with essential ruption of stuck tradcs or hank transactions (that
serviccs. For example, a launch nf a inissilc by a is, a ineasurc ofthe disruption ofesscntial services).
defensive system cannot be effective if the systcinh Again, ultimately it is missinn fulfillmrnt that
performance is slowcd to the point that thc target is must survive, not any portion or component of thc
out of rangr hclorc the system can launch. system. A lost essential service can be replaced by
The capability to deliver essential serviccs (and anothcr seivice that supports mission fiilfillnient in
maintain the associated esscntial properties) must a different hut equivalent way However, we still
hc sustaincd even if a significant portion of thc sys- believe that the identification and protection of
tem is incapaciiatcd. Furthcrmorr, this capability essential services is an imporrant part of a practical
s b o d d not be dependcnt upon thc survival of a approach to building and analy7,ingsurvivable sys-
specific information rcsoiircc, computation, or terns. Thus in our definition of essential services,
communication link. In a military setting, essen- wc include alternate sets of essential services (pcr-
tial services might be thosc required to maintain an haps mutually cxclusivc) that need not be simulta-
overwhelming technical supcrinrity, and essential neously available. For cxamplc, a set of essential ser-
properties may include integrity, confidentiality, vices tn support power delivery inay include both
and a level of performance sufficient to deliver the distribution of electricity and thc operation of
results in less than one dccisinn cyclc of thr enemy. a natural gas pipclinc.
In the public sector, a survivablc financial system
is one that mailitailis rhc integtiry, confidentiality, SURVIVABILITY SOLUTIONS
and availability of csscntial information and finan- Survivability solutions are hest undcrstood as risk-
cial services, cven if particular nodes or cnmmutii- management stmcgirs that depend first on an inti-
lttE I N l l R N I I COMPUIING
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S U R V I V , % B L E S Y S l E M S
matc knowledge o f thc mission being protectcd.2 utivr maiiagcmciii with thc infirmation necessary
The mission focus expands survivability solutioiis to make informed risk-mauagcment decisions.
hcyond purely iodepcndcnt (“one s i x fits all”) tcch- Thus, thc prrparaiory stcps nrccssary 1.b~ surviv-
nical strlutions, cvcn if those tcchnical solutious abiliiy must bc takeii by an organizatiun as a whulc,
extend beyoiid traditional computcr security to rather than hy security experts alone.
include fault iolerauce, reliahility, usahility, and so
forth. Risk-miiigation strategies must be crcatcd in New Tools for Survivability Support
the coiitcxt o f a mission’s requircmcnts (prioritized Ncw tescarch methods and tools to support sur-
sets o f normal and stress requirements), and must vivability solutions arc under dcvclopmcnt. A nun-
he based on “what-ii“ aiialyses of survival sccnarios her o f these c h r t s focus ou architectural issues.
a d contingency planning. Only ilieii c,ui wc look Otic approach inotivatcd hy iuforinarion war-
fare attacks ou t h c U S . infrastructure proposes to
dcsigiiatc a portion of the infrastructurc as the
essential minimum and liardrn that portion
The preparatory steps necessary against atiacb. Rccent work proposes mcthodol-
ogy t u analyze that approach.’
for survivability must be taken by Ncumann documcuts the first phase of a multi-
an organization as a whole. year e f f o n o n survivability8 T h e overall objectives
o f thc project includr
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P R O T E C T I N G C R I T I C A L S Y S T E M S
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S U R V I V A B L E S Y S T E M S
resistance, recognition, and recovery to the systcni ability policirs, responding to attacks, ind tak-
architecture and requircments. The SNA method ing recovery actions.
has heen applied to a subsystem of a large-scale, dis-
tributed health-care system." Futurc studies will For existing systems, survivability providrs a ncw
apply the SNA method to proposed and existing perspective on evolution and upgrade. The surviv-
distributed systems for government, defense, and ability of existing systems caii often be improvcd
commercial organizations. with additional layers of boundary control-for
The Survivable Systems Simulator being dcvel- example, firewalls and their niore sophisticated s i c
opcd by thc CEKT Coordination Center is hasrd cessors--and through evolution to redundant (and
upon a ncw methodology called "emergent algo- diverse) hardware and software environments. In
rithms."" Emergent algorithms produce global addition, administrative procedures for hackup,
effects through coopcrative local actions distrihutcd restoration, and migration can be tested and any
throughout a system. These global effects (which inadequacies addressed. And survivability features
"emerge" from local actions) can Slipport system caii play a prominent role in the evaluation and
survivahility by allowing a system to fdfill its mis- selection of vendors and products.
sion, cven though the individual nodcs of the sys- The natural cscalation of offensive threats ver-
tem ore not survivable. Emergent algorithms can sus defensive counternieasure~has dcmonsirated
provide solutions to survivahility problems that time and again that no practical systems can be
cannot be achieved by conventional means. The buili that arc invnlncrablc io attack. Ucspite the
Survivable Systems Simnlator will allow stakehold- industry's bcst efforts, there can bc no assurance
ers to visualize the effects of specific cyber-attacks, that systems will uot be lircached.'l'hus, the tradi-
accidents, and failurcs on a given system or infra- tional view of information systems security mnst
structnre. The goal is to enable "what-iF" analyses lit: cxpandcd to cncornpass the specification and
and contingency planning based on simulated design of survivability behavior, Cllabling the crc-
walk-throughs of survivability scenarios. atinn uf systems that arc rohuat in the presrncc of
attack and ate able to survive attacks that caniint he
Development Considerations coinplctrly rcpelled.
For uew systems, survivability imposes constraints
on all phases of the software development process. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thc Sofrwaic h g i n c c r i n g Inatituic at Csrncgir Mellon U t i -
At thc requirements and specification lcvcl, vcraiiy i s :I fcdcrally h d c d icsciiicli and dcvclopnieiir CCIICCC
essential scrvica and assets should be identified. s p o ~ ~ s o r ebyi ~rhc U.S. ~ ~ uercnsc. ~ c m and~ ~ ~
Requirements h r rcsistancr, recognition, recov- CERI' Cnnrdinariuo Ccnrcr ire r r g i r m c d in rhe U.S. Patent
ery, and adaptation should also be specificd. and Trailemark O f k c .
Architcctnres should incorporate survivability l ~ ~ i i ~ lioformuion
icr on t h i s srridc and relxeed rcsexcch is ~ v ~ i l -
strategies such as those mentioned in 'Fable I. able at borli h r r p : l l w ~ ? u a c i . c m ~ I . e d d o r g a o i r a t i o l ~ ~ s l
Evaluation should treat survivability on par orriri,r"-net-rc'l,.l~~,~lslid l , r r ~ ' : l l \ ~ " ~ . m r t . o ~ g l ~ ~ s ~ ~ ~ ~ l , .
with othcr properties such as performance, teli-
ability, and maintainability REFERENCES
Reused and COTS products should he selcct- 1. B. Rlsklcy, '''I'hc F,mpcm~'sOld Arinor,," Pror 1996New
rd with survivability i n mind. Ceiiriiry Pamdip-. l%rksbo/~,ACM. Ncw York, 1997.
Design and implementation should include 2. H I L i p w n and L l A . Fishcr. "StIwiwbili~-A NewTcclininl
techniques for isolation, replication, restoration, a d Busiims l'crspccrivc on Sccuriry." /'roc. I999 N m Secwiry
and migration ofessential services. fimrd@s Wor?+,ACM l'icss, NcwYork, 1999.
Correctness verification should cnsnrt: faithful 3. S . llcllovin iW. Chcswich, iireuudlr and hiteraet S k u -
d
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P R O T E C T I N G C R I T I C A L S Y S T E M S
IEEE
MALICIOUS INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY:
The Software vs.
The People 5
See the
SeptlOct 2000
issue of
IEEE Software.
hllp://computer/iolIware
Iff1 I N l i R H i l COMPUTING
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