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Article

Cyber-Attack Scoring Model Based on the Offensive Cybersecurity Framework

by
Kyounggon Kim
1,*,
Faisal Abdulaziz Alfouzan
2,* and
Huykang Kim
3
1
Center of Excellence in Cybercrime and Digital Forensics, College of Criminal Justice, Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, Riyadh 14812, Saudi Arabia
2
Department of Forensic Sciences, College of Criminal Justice, Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, Riyadh 14812, Saudi Arabia
3
School of Cybersecurity, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7738; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167738
Submission received: 11 July 2021 / Revised: 12 August 2021 / Accepted: 15 August 2021 / Published: 23 August 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyber Security of Critical Infrastructures)

Abstract

Cyber-attacks have become commonplace in the world of the Internet. The nature of cyber-attacks is gradually changing. Early cyber-attacks were usually conducted by curious personal hackers who used simple techniques to hack homepages and steal personal information. Lately, cyber attackers have started using sophisticated cyber-attack techniques that enable them to retrieve national confidential information beyond the theft of personal information or defacing websites. These sophisticated and advanced cyber-attacks can disrupt the critical infrastructures of a nation. Much research regarding cyber-attacks has been conducted; however, there has been a lack of research related to measuring cyber-attacks from the perspective of offensive cybersecurity. This motivated us to propose a methodology for quantifying cyber-attacks such that they are measurable rather than abstract. For this purpose, we identified each element of offensive cybersecurity used in cyber-attacks. We also investigated the extent to which the detailed techniques identified in the offensive cyber-security framework were used, by analyzing cyber-attacks. Based on these investigations, the complexity and intensity of cyber-attacks can be measured and quantified. We evaluated advanced persistent threats (APT) and fileless cyber-attacks that occurred between 2010 and 2020 based on the methodology we developed. Based on our research methodology, we expect that researchers will be able to measure future cyber-attacks.
Keywords: offensive cybersecurity; cyber-attacks; scoring model; offensive cybersecurity framework offensive cybersecurity; cyber-attacks; scoring model; offensive cybersecurity framework

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Kim, K.; Alfouzan, F.A.; Kim, H. Cyber-Attack Scoring Model Based on the Offensive Cybersecurity Framework. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 7738. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167738

AMA Style

Kim K, Alfouzan FA, Kim H. Cyber-Attack Scoring Model Based on the Offensive Cybersecurity Framework. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11(16):7738. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167738

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kim, Kyounggon, Faisal Abdulaziz Alfouzan, and Huykang Kim. 2021. "Cyber-Attack Scoring Model Based on the Offensive Cybersecurity Framework" Applied Sciences 11, no. 16: 7738. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167738

APA Style

Kim, K., Alfouzan, F. A., & Kim, H. (2021). Cyber-Attack Scoring Model Based on the Offensive Cybersecurity Framework. Applied Sciences, 11(16), 7738. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167738

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