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Jeffersons Ghost

(15,235 posts) Wed Oct 23, 2013, 10:58 PM Oct 2013

What will happen to the NSA if this Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project backfires?

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA has a core mission of Creating & Preventing Strategic Surprise
http://www.darpa.mil/default.aspx
Essentially, in the current DARPA project, teams would conduct surprise attacks on elements of NSA involved in cyber-command. If, for example, a Chinese code-breaking team compromised NSA codes and then contributed to the attacks, how much money in tax-dollars would this exercise cost us? Do you think this project could get people working at overseas units of NSA in places like Pakistan or Iran killed?

CYBER GRAND CHALLENGE (CGC)

For any given software vulnerability, the lengthy time window from initial bug report to widespread patch deployment puts cybersecurity analysts at a significant disadvantage. In many cases a race ensues between miscreants intending to exploit the vulnerability and analysts who must assess, remediate, test, and deploy a patch before significant damage can be done. Experts follow a process that involves sophisticated reasoning followed by manual creation of each security signature and software patch — an artisanal approach that can require months and many dollars. This approach has resulted in an environment of ubiquitous software insecurity that favors attackers over defenders.

To help overcome these challenges, DARPA has launched the Cyber Grand Challenge: a competition that seeks to create automatic defensive systems capable of reasoning about flaws, formulating patches and deploying them on a network in real time. By acting at machine speed and scale, these technologies may someday overturn today’s attacker-dominated status quo.

Just as the first autonomous ground vehicles fielded during DARPA’s 2004 Grand Challenge weren’t initially ready to take to the highways, the first generation of automated network defense systems won’t be able to meaningfully compete against expert analysts or defend production networks. The Cyber Grand Challenge aims to give these groundbreaking prototypes a “league of their own,” allowing them to compete head-to-head to defend a network of bespoke software. DARPA plans to model the contest on today’s elite cybersecurity tournaments.
http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/I2O/Programs/Cyber_Grand_Challenge_(CGC).aspx

3 replies

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Highlight:

What will happen to the NSA if this Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project backfires? (Original Post) Jeffersons Ghost Oct 2013 OP

DARPA is not just one project. NYC_SKP Oct 2013 #1

Ya think? Just go to the main DARPA page at the other link and click "cyber" Jeffersons Ghost Oct 2013 #2

To me, they're totally in sync with where they need to go. Crowdsourcing, Encryption, Communication NYC_SKP Oct 2013 #3

NYC_SKP

(68,644 posts)

1. DARPA is not just one project.

Reply to Jeffersons Ghost (Original post)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 11:00 PM

Oct 2013

I've been involved with them, which project are we to be concerned with?

Also, your last link isn't working.

Jeffersons Ghost

(15,235 posts)

2. Ya think? Just go to the main DARPA page at the other link and click "cyber"

Reply to NYC_SKP (Reply #1)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 11:28 PM

Oct 2013

With my background, I find this DARPA project more interesting:
ROBUST RADIO TECHNIQUES

Teams from Northeastern University and Vanderbilt University win top honors for designing programmable radios that can communicate in adverse spectrum environments

Radios are used for a wide range of tasks, from the most mundane to the most critical of communications, from garage door openers to first responders to military operations. Wireless devices often inadvertently interfere with and disrupt radio communications, and in battlefield environments adversaries may intentionally jam friendly communications. To stimulate the development of radio techniques that can overcome these impediments, DARPA launched its Spectrum Challenge—a competitive demonstration of robust radio technologies that seek to communicate reliably in congested and contested electromagnetic environments without direct coordination or spectrum preplanning.

On September 11-12, 2013, 18 teams from around the country converged on DARPA in Arlington, Va., to demonstrate their prototype software-defined radios during the contest’s first live competition. The contestants included the 15 highest-scoring teams and three wildcard teams from the 90 teams that initially registered. After two days, teams from Northeastern University and Vanderbilt University emerged as the most successful competitors, each earning a $25,000 prize. In all, the DARPA Spectrum Challenge plans to award $150,000 in prizes.

In addition to this preliminary event, the Spectrum Challenge also plans to hold a final event in March 2014. Both events are multiple-elimination and have each team play at least three matches. All 18 teams are scheduled to play both events. The Final Challenge competition is slated to follow the same structure as the preliminaries but award twice the prize money—$50,000 per winning team.

Here's the first link:
http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/I2O/Programs/Cyber_Grand_Challenge_(CGC).aspx

NYC_SKP

(68,644 posts)

3. To me, they're totally in sync with where they need to go. Crowdsourcing, Encryption, Communication

Reply to Jeffersons Ghost (Reply #2)

Wed Oct 23, 2013, 11:35 PM

Oct 2013

I'm impressed and, like you, intrigued!

It's encouraging that they aren't in the world of building bigger aircraft carriers or JTF fighters that cost bazillions.

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