Chris Hankin
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Previous Organizations / Institutes
The organizations / institutes from the scholar's other articles in the past ten years
Chris Hankin has a total of 96 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
Herbert Wiklicky
Imperial College London
18 shared publicationsAlessandra Di Pierro
University of Verona
15 shared publications- Martín Barrère
Imperial College London
8 shared publications - Erwan Le Martelot
Department of Computing Imperial College London London SW7 2AZ United Kingdom
5 shared publications - Flemming Nielson
Technical University of Denmark
5 shared publications - Hanne Riis Nielson
Technical University of Denmark
5 shared publications
Latest Publications
- Open Access
- 30 September 2022
- Published by Elsevier in Computers & Security
- Vol. 123
Attack Dynamics: An Automatic Attack Graph Generation Framework Based on System Topology, CAPEC, CWE, and CVE Databases
- 30 September 2022
- Published by Elsevier in Computers & Security
- Vol. 123
Open AccessAttack Dynamics: An Automatic Attack Graph Generation Framework Based on System Topology, CAPEC, CWE, and CVE Databases
- Open Access
Deep Latent Defence
Deep learning methods have shown state of the art performance in a range of tasks from computer vision to natural language processing. However, it is well known that such systems are vulnerable to attackers who craft inputs in order to cause misclassification. The level of perturbation an attacker needs to introduce in order to cause such a misclassification can be extremely small, and often imperceptible. This is of significant security concern, particularly where misclassification can cause harm to humans. We thus propose Deep Latent Defence, an architecture which seeks to combine adversarial training with a detection system. At its core Deep Latent Defence has a adversarially trained neural network. A series of encoders take the intermediate layer representation of data as it passes though the network and project it to a latent space which we use for detecting adversarial samples via a $k$-nn classifier. We present results using both grey and white box attackers, as well as an adaptive $L_{\infty}$ bounded attack which was constructed specifically to try and evade our defence. We find that even under the strongest attacker model that we have investigated our defence is able to offer significant defensive benefits.Open AccessDeep Latent Defence
Deep learning methods have shown state of the art performance in a range of tasks from computer vision to natural language processing. However, it is well known that such systems are vulnerable to attackers who craft inputs in order to cause misclassification. The level of perturbation an attacker needs to introduce in order to cause such a misclassification can be extremely small, and often imperceptible. This is of significant security concern, particularly where misclassification can cause harm to humans. We thus propose Deep Latent Defence, an architecture which seeks to combine adversarial training with a detection system. At its core Deep Latent Defence has a adversarially trained neural network. A series of encoders take the intermediate layer representation of data as it passes though the network and project it to a latent space which we use for detecting adversarial samples via a $k$-nn classifier. We present results using both grey and white box attackers, as well as an adaptive $L_{\infty}$ bounded attack which was constructed specifically to try and evade our defence. We find that even under the strongest attacker model that we have investigated our defence is able to offer significant defensive benefits. - Open Access
CyRes -- Avoiding Catastrophic Failure in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (Extended Abstract)
Existing approaches to cyber security and regulation in the automotive sector cannot achieve the quality of outcome necessary to ensure the safe mass deployment of advanced vehicle technologies and smart mobility systems. Without sustainable resilience hard-fought public trust will evaporate, derailing emerging global initiatives to improve the efficiency, safety and environmental impact of future transport. This paper introduces an operational cyber resilience methodology, CyRes, that is suitable for standardisation. The CyRes methodology itself is capable of being tested in court or by publicly appointed regulators. It is designed so that operators understand what evidence should be produced by it and are able to measure the quality of that evidence. The evidence produced is capable of being tested in court or by publicly appointed regulators. Thus, the real-world system to which the CyRes methodology has been applied is capable of operating at all times and in all places with a legally and socially acceptable value of negative consequence.
Open AccessCyRes -- Avoiding Catastrophic Failure in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (Extended Abstract)
Existing approaches to cyber security and regulation in the automotive sector cannot achieve the quality of outcome necessary to ensure the safe mass deployment of advanced vehicle technologies and smart mobility systems. Without sustainable resilience hard-fought public trust will evaporate, derailing emerging global initiatives to improve the efficiency, safety and environmental impact of future transport. This paper introduces an operational cyber resilience methodology, CyRes, that is suitable for standardisation. The CyRes methodology itself is capable of being tested in court or by publicly appointed regulators. It is designed so that operators understand what evidence should be produced by it and are able to measure the quality of that evidence. The evidence produced is capable of being tested in court or by publicly appointed regulators. Thus, the real-world system to which the CyRes methodology has been applied is capable of operating at all times and in all places with a legally and socially acceptable value of negative consequence.
- Open Access
- 1 June 2020
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- p. 53-54
Fault Tree Analysis: Identifying Maximum Probability Minimal Cut Sets with MaxSAT
In this paper, we present a novel MaxSAT-based technique to compute Maximum Probability Minimal Cut Sets (MPMCSs) in fault trees. We model the MPMCS problem as a Weighted Partial MaxSAT problem and solve it using a parallel SAT-solving architecture. The results obtained with our open source tool indicate that the approach is effective and efficient.
- 1 June 2020
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- p. 53-54
Open AccessFault Tree Analysis: Identifying Maximum Probability Minimal Cut Sets with MaxSAT
In this paper, we present a novel MaxSAT-based technique to compute Maximum Probability Minimal Cut Sets (MPMCSs) in fault trees. We model the MPMCS problem as a Weighted Partial MaxSAT problem and solve it using a parallel SAT-solving architecture. The results obtained with our open source tool indicate that the approach is effective and efficient.
- 1 June 2020
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- p. 398-410
Scalable Approach to Enhancing ICS Resilience by Network Diversity
Network diversity has been widely recognized as an effective defense strategy to mitigate the spread of malware. Optimally diversifying network resources can improve the resilience of a network against malware propagation. This work proposes a scalable method to compute such an optimal deployment, in the context of upgrading a legacy Industrial Control System with modern IT infrastructure. Our approach can tolerate various constraints when searching for optimal diversification, such as outdated products and strict configuration policies. We explicitly measure the vulnerability similarity of products based on the CVE/NVD, to estimate the infection rate of malware between products. A Stuxnet-inspired case demonstrates our optimal diversification in practice, particularly when constrained by various requirements. We then measure the improved resilience of the diversified network in terms of a well-defined diversity metric and Mean-time-to-compromise (MTTC), to verify the effectiveness of our approach. Finally, we show the competitive scalability of our approach in finding optimal solutions within a couple of seconds to minutes for networks of large scales (up to 10,000 hosts) and high densities (up to 240,000 edges).
- 1 June 2020
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- p. 398-410
Scalable Approach to Enhancing ICS Resilience by Network Diversity
Network diversity has been widely recognized as an effective defense strategy to mitigate the spread of malware. Optimally diversifying network resources can improve the resilience of a network against malware propagation. This work proposes a scalable method to compute such an optimal deployment, in the context of upgrading a legacy Industrial Control System with modern IT infrastructure. Our approach can tolerate various constraints when searching for optimal diversification, such as outdated products and strict configuration policies. We explicitly measure the vulnerability similarity of products based on the CVE/NVD, to estimate the infection rate of malware between products. A Stuxnet-inspired case demonstrates our optimal diversification in practice, particularly when constrained by various requirements. We then measure the improved resilience of the diversified network in terms of a well-defined diversity metric and Mean-time-to-compromise (MTTC), to verify the effectiveness of our approach. Finally, we show the competitive scalability of our approach in finding optimal solutions within a couple of seconds to minutes for networks of large scales (up to 10,000 hosts) and high densities (up to 240,000 edges).
- Open Access
- 1 June 2020
- Published by Elsevier in Journal of Information Security and Applications
- Vol. 52
Measuring cyber-physical security in industrial control systems via minimum-effort attack strategies
- 1 June 2020
- Published by Elsevier in Journal of Information Security and Applications
- Vol. 52
Open AccessMeasuring cyber-physical security in industrial control systems via minimum-effort attack strategies
- Open Access
Fault Tree Analysis: Identifying Maximum Probability Minimal Cut Sets with MaxSAT
In this paper, we present a novel MaxSAT-based technique to compute Maximum Probability Minimal Cut Sets (MPMCSs) in fault trees. We model the MPMCS problem as a Weighted Partial MaxSAT problem and solve it using a parallel SAT-solving architecture. The results obtained with our open source tool indicate that the approach is effective and efficient.
Open AccessFault Tree Analysis: Identifying Maximum Probability Minimal Cut Sets with MaxSAT
In this paper, we present a novel MaxSAT-based technique to compute Maximum Probability Minimal Cut Sets (MPMCSs) in fault trees. We model the MPMCS problem as a Weighted Partial MaxSAT problem and solve it using a parallel SAT-solving architecture. The results obtained with our open source tool indicate that the approach is effective and efficient.
- Open Access
MaxSAT Evaluation 2019 -- Benchmark: Identifying Security-Critical Cyber-Physical Components in Weighted AND/OR Graphs
This paper presents a MaxSAT benchmark focused on identifying critical nodes in AND/OR graphs. We use AND/OR graphs to model Industrial Control Systems (ICS) as they are able to semantically grasp intricate logical interdependencies among ICS components. However, identifying critical nodes in AND/OR graphs is an NP-complete problem. We address this problem by efficiently transforming the input AND/OR graph-based model into a weighted logical formula that is then used to build and solve a Weighted Partial MaxSAT problem. The benchmark includes 80 cases with AND/OR graphs of different size and composition as well as the optimal cost and solution for each case.
Open AccessMaxSAT Evaluation 2019 -- Benchmark: Identifying Security-Critical Cyber-Physical Components in Weighted AND/OR Graphs
This paper presents a MaxSAT benchmark focused on identifying critical nodes in AND/OR graphs. We use AND/OR graphs to model Industrial Control Systems (ICS) as they are able to semantically grasp intricate logical interdependencies among ICS components. However, identifying critical nodes in AND/OR graphs is an NP-complete problem. We address this problem by efficiently transforming the input AND/OR graph-based model into a weighted logical formula that is then used to build and solve a Weighted Partial MaxSAT problem. The benchmark includes 80 cases with AND/OR graphs of different size and composition as well as the optimal cost and solution for each case.
- Open Access
- 1 September 2019
- Published by BCS Learning & Development Ltd in Electronic Workshops in Computing
Assessing Cyber-Physical Security in Industrial Control Systems
- 1 September 2019
- Published by BCS Learning & Development Ltd in Electronic Workshops in Computing
Open AccessAssessing Cyber-Physical Security in Industrial Control Systems