Multiple operating system rotation environment moving target defense

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing a multiple operating system rotation environment (“MORE”) moving target defense (“MTD”) computing system are described. The MORE-MTD system provides enhanced computer system security through a rotation of multiple operating systems. The MORE-MTD system increases attacker uncertainty, increases the cost of attacking the system, reduces the likelihood of an attacker locating a vulnerability, and reduces the exposure time of any located vulnerability. The MORE-MTD environment is effectuated by rotation of the operating systems at a given interval. The rotating operating systems create a consistently changing attack surface for remote attackers.

Description

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST[0001]The U.S. Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. DE-AC-02-06CH11357 between the U.S. Government and the UChicago Argonne, LLC representing Argonne National Laboratory.FIELD[0002]The present disclosure relates generally to systems that thwart cyber-attacks by employing moving target defense (“MTD” hereafter). In particular, the disclosure relates to systems that utilize multiple operating system rotation environment (“MORE” hereafter) MTD to counter cyber-attack attempts.BACKGROUND[0003]Cyber-attacks continue to pose a major threat to computing systems. As shown in FIG. 1, in a typical client-server computing system 100, a client device 102 interacts with a host computer 104 (e.g., a virtual machine, a host computer, etc.). A typical client device 102 is primarily concerned with accessing the application layer 106 of the host computer 104 (e.g., the application the user is attempting to access). The client device 102 typi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent describes a system and method for providing a multiple operating system rotation environment, which allows for a seamless hand-off from one host device to another when a user requests an application. The system includes multiple host devices with different operating systems, and an administrator device that synchronizes the host devices and performs the hand-off operation. The technical effects of this system include improved user experience, reliability, and flexibility for application development and deployment.

Problems solved by technology

Cyber-attacks continue to pose a major threat to computing systems.

Such static systems are particularly vulnerable to zero-day attacks (e.g., an attack that exploits a previously unidentified vulnerability).

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