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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Libicki first characterized attacks on computer systems in the context of information warfare as being physical, syntactic, and semantic, where software agents were misled by an adversary¹s disinformation. Recently Cybenko et al. defined cognitive, or semantic, hacking as an attack on a computer system directed at the mind of the user of the system, which, in order to succeed, had to influence the user¹s perceptions and behavior. This presentation describes research on such semantic attacks. Two specific applications are discussed: a) a content-based approach to detecting insider misuse, and b) a system to detect disinforming news items on the Internet. The insider misuse system uses Hidden Markov Models to represent stages in the Evidence-Based Intelligence Analysis Process Model (EBIAPM). This approach is seen as a potential application for the Process Query System / Tracking and Fusion Engine (PQS/TRAFEN). The second system, a semantic hacking countermeasure, has been implemented as the prototype News Verifier system. Because disinformation and deception play a much more significant role in intelligence and security informatics than in other informatics disciplines such as science, medicine, and the law, a proposed new science of intelligence and security informatics must concern itself with semantic attacks and countermeasures. If anyone is interested in meeting with the speaker during the day on Monday March 5, please let me know. Karin Verspoor (verspoor@lanl.gov)
Host: Karin Verspoor