of four technical functions Asset Identification, Infrastructure Model and Control, Threat.pdf

Network Mission Assurance Michael F. Junod, Patrick A. Muckelbauer, PhD, Todd C. Hughes, PhD, Julius M. Etzl, and James E. Denny Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories Camden, NJ 08102 {mjunod,pmuckelb,thughes,jetzl,jdenny}@ Abstract The doctrine of Network Mission Assurance (NMA) evaluates the value of information assurance and the risk of computer threats based upon their impact on the organizational functions supported by the network. The NMA framework is comprised of four technical functions: Asset Identification, Infrastructure Model and Control, Threat Analysis and Prediction, and Response Coordination. Our research in support of the NMA investigates technical solutions for trust-based resource control, reflective and reconfigurable network services, autonomic network defense, and cyber-attack representation. We contend that NMA unifies the purpose and function of separate information assurance programs into a holistic, network-centric solution. 1. Introduction This document describes the Network Mission Assurance (NMA) doctrine of Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories (ATL). This doctrine is used as a guide to focus our information assurance efforts in different research areas and ensure these efforts can work together in a dynamic distributed network environment and effectively leverage and incorporate point security solutions into a robust information assurance architecture. It is our belief that one cannot simply back-fit existing security point solutions onto existing architectures and expect to have an improved security infrastructure. In fact, this can result in a less secure architecture that requires a great deal of manual effort in maintenance and monitoring. 2Point security products (e.g., vulnerability scanners, intrusion detection systems, firewalls) often operate in isolation. In contrast, according to NMA, security solutions should not only be integrated with, but orchestrated among, the components of a network infrastruct