Mission-Based Cybersecurity Test and Evaluation of Weapon Systems in Association with Risk Management Framework

Abstract

With the advancement of information technology (IT), the importance of cyber security is increasing because of the expansion of software utilization in the development of weapon systems. Civilian embedded systems and military weapon systems have cybersecurity-related symmetry that can increase vulnerabilities in the process of advanced information technology. Many countries, including the United States, are exploring ways to improve cybersecurity throughout the lifecycle of a weapon system. The South Korean military is applying the U.S. standard risk management framework (RMF) to some weapon systems to improve cybersecurity, but the need for a model that is more suitable for the South Korean military has been emphasized. This paper presents the results of a mission-based cybersecurity test, along with an evaluation model that can be applied to South Korean military weapon systems in parallel with the RMF. This study first examined the related international research trends, and proposed a test and evaluation method that could be utilized with the RMF throughout the entire life cycle of a weapon system. The weapon system was divided into asset, function, operational task, and mission layers based on the mission, and a mutually complementary model was proposed by linking the RMF and cybersecurity test and evaluation according to the domestic situation. In order to verify the proposed cybersecurity test and evaluation model, a simulation was developed and performed targeting the Close Air Support (CAS) mission support system, which is a virtual weapon system. In this simulation, the nodes performances by layer before and after a cyberattack were calculated, and the vulnerabilities and protection measures identified in the cyber security test and evaluation were quantified. This simulation made it possible to evaluate and derive protection measures in consideration of mission performance. It is believed that the proposed model could be used with some modifications, depending on the circumstances of each country developing weapon systems in the future.