Measuring the efficiency of SDN mitigations against attacks on computer infrastructures

Abstract Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualisation (NFV) provide the basis for autonomous response and mitigation against attacks on networked computer infrastructures. We propose a new framework that uses SDNs and NFV to achieve this goal: Secure Autonomous Response Network (SARNET). In a SARNET, an agent running a control loop constantly assesses the security state of the network by means of observables. The agent reacts to and resolves security problems, while learning from its previous decisions. Two main metrics govern the decision process in a SARNET: impact and efficiency ; these metrics can be used to compare and evaluate countermeasures and are the building blocks for self-learning SARNETs that exhibit autonomous response. In this paper we present the software implementation of the SARNET framework, evaluate it in a real-life network and discuss the tradeoffs between parameters used by the SARNET agent and the efficiency of its actions.