A Bio-inspired Approach to Cyber Security

Owing to a growing reliance on information, technology and connectivity, Cyberspace has become the lifeline and interactive place for modern life. As such, Cyber security challenges are a global phenomenon whose adverse implications are catastrophic. Cyberspace is complex and unpredictable; its global connectedness and an explosion of data increases the threat surface as cyber infrastructures become highly complex and dynamic. Managing, i.e. ensuring and assuring security in cyberspace requires inspiration from advanced complex systems. Through evolution, nature has developed natural propensities in complex systems (including animalia and plants) that enable survival through adaptation. Predation-avoidance and anti-predation techniques employed by non-extinct preys could be exploited/adopted as mechanisms for adaptation through their application in Cyber security. This chapter presents an overall review of the current state of the Cyber security landscape. In addition, it demonstrates through further review, significant trends towards bio-inspired approaches as unconventional solutions to problems in other fields. Drawing from survivable preys in nature, the chapter speculates solutions for Cyberspace and Cyber security as follows; given an old problem (Pold) with an old solutions (Sold), a new problem (Pnew) can be conceptualized with new partial and perhaps null solutions (Snew) in the solutions space Sold to Snew.
Keywords: Bio-inspired, Artificial Life, Cyber security, Cyberdefense, Autonomic Computing, Survivability, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, Predator-Prey.