Abstract
In the context of a computer system, computer security is the prevention of an illicit action against the system. For this purpose, computer security must determine the difference between normal and harmful activities. These activities can come from outside or from inside the system to be protected. In a similar manner, the role of the Human Immune System (HIS) is to detect and defend against harm. This similarity has inspired approaches in the area of computer security, including the use of immune-based approaches to build Intrusion Detection and Response Systems (IDRSs). As a concrete example, this chapter introduces a new approach for Intrusion Detection (ID) and Intrusion Response (IR) to build a completely distributed and decentralised IDRS for use in computer networks. This approach is called Intrusion Detection and Response extended with Agent Mobility, or IDReAM for short. IDReAM combines Mobile Agents (MAs) with two self-organising paradigms inspired by natural life systems. The Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is inspired by the metaphor of the immune system that protects the human body from external threats. Specialised cells of the immune system, called the T cells, travel around the body to detect possible threats by eliminating the proteins that they do not recognise as safe proteins—referred to as non-self proteins. Intrusion Detection Agents (IDAs) roam the network to detect suspicious behaviours in a manner that mimics the behaviour of T cells. The Intrusion Response System (IRS) also borrows mechanisms from the stigmergic paradigm of a colony of ants. At the time of foraging, the ants use the environment to diffuse a chemical substance called the pheromone which traces the route for the other ants from the nest to the source of food. Intrusion Response Agents (IRAs) roam the network to respond to the IDAs’ alerts, mimicking the behaviour of the ants to trace the route to the alert and give the response. The two natural systems exhibit a social behaviour by the organisation of their entities, T cells and ants, which is not possible without the functionality of mobility.
Natural systems as a source of inspiration for computer security.
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Notes
- 1.
Refer to Chap. 3 Self-organisation and Emergence in Natural Systems for more detail about self-organising systems.
- 2.
A self-catalytic reaction is catalysis in which the catalyst is one of the products of the reaction.
- 3.
There is always a small probability that other paths are created by other ants that keep moving randomly until they find another source of food. This behaviour is crucial for the survival of the ant colony.
- 4.
Refer to Chap. 4, Software Agents, for more detail about software agents.
- 5.
The official site for Snort is: http://www.snort.org/.
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Foukia, N., Middlemiss, M. (2011). Security in Artificial Systems. In: Di Marzo Serugendo, G., Gleizes, MP., Karageorgos, A. (eds) Self-organising Software. Natural Computing Series. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17348-6_16
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