NetShifter: A Comprehensive Multi-Dimensional Network Obfuscation and Deception Solution

Moving target defense (MTD) is a cyber defense strategy in which a set of system configurations are dynamically changed to increase uncertainty and complexity for adversaries that try to discover and exploit vulnerabilities. While MTD is considered as a potential game changer in cyber defense, existing MTD solutions for military networks (and enterprise networks) are not sufficient in thwarting adversary attempt to perform reconnaissance, launch attack, and exfiltrate information mostly due to physical constraints of the network. The set of configurations to be played in MTD are constrained by yet static physical wired connections and physical locations.To improve cyber agility of military networks, Intelligent Automation, Inc (IAI) proposes to develop NetShifter that performs multi-dimensional network-level MTD in full scale beyond physical constraints of military/enterprise networks. The main objective of this project is to develop innovative MTD techniques that can dynamically adapt network or perception of network to defeat or at least delay the processes of cyber-attacks. By developing innovative MTD techniques as well as leveraging state-of-art techniques, the NetShifter makes it extremely difficult for the adversary to discover the attack surface in the network for launching a successful attack.