The major assumption of Moving Target Defense is that perfect security is unattainable. Moving Target Defense is the concept of controlling change across multiple system dimensions in order to increase uncertainty and apparent complexity for attackers, reducing their window of opportunity and increasing the costs of their probing and attack efforts. Given the assumption that all systems are compromised, the Moving Target Defense focuses on enabling the continued safe operation in a compromised environment and to have systems that are economically defensible rather than perfectly secure.
The concept of Moving Target Defense is perfectly illustrated by the “shell game,” also known as “Thimblerig,” “Three Shells and a Pea,” and the “Old Army Game.” This is a game dating back to Ancient Greece in which a target (usually a pea or ball) is hidden under one of three shells or cups. The object of the game is to find the target after the shells have been moved.
In the current IT environment, most of legacy IT systems are built to operate in a relatively static configuration designed for simplicity in a time when malicious exploitation of system vulnerabilities was not a concern. Addresses, names, software stacks, networks and various configuration parameters remain more or less the same over long periods of time providing the attacker with an asymmetric advantage, as adversaries are able to take their time and plan attacks at their leisure. To counter this threat, the Moving Target Defense methods and tools dynamically shift the attack surface, making it more difficult for attackers to strike, overturning the asymmetric advantage against attacker. The Moving Target Defense market also includes resilient hardware designed to function while under attack.
The report covers Moving Target Defense (MTD) products, technologies and services and provides detailed year-by-year forecasts for the following market segments:
- MTD market by selected countries
- MTD market by verticals;
- MTD market by software, hardware and services, infrastructure and technology segments;
- MTD market by threat intelligence gathering, protective and hybrid systems.
