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An initial framework for evolving computer configurations as a moving target defense

An evolutionary process encourages a system to change, and hopefully improve, based on environmental feed-back. When applied to a computer system, an evolutionary inspired process can be used to discover computer configurations that are different and potentially more secure. These configurations can be instantiated at different times to create a Moving Target Defense (MTD), where attackers must contend with a system that constantly changes and improves.
 This paper describes an initial Python-based framework that creates an evolutionary inspired MTD for computers. The framework consists of three interacting components. An evolutionary component discovers computer configurations based on previous configurations. Another component vets new configurations by instantiating them using virtual machines. Finally, a third process uses a combination of penetration software as well as reports from actual attacks to assess the configurations. The framework has been used to provide a MTD for RedHat® installed Apache™1 web servers. Experimental results indicate the servers are on average diverse, functional, and increasingly more secure.