Network Stimulation Engine Virtual Actor Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cyber range solutions are expensive and require frequent hardware updates to simulate large, realistic computer networks, making them impractical for blue team/red team training and cybersecurity testing.
Innovation Solution
A software-based Network Stimulation Engine that generates and simulates a realistic computer network environment with user-defined actors and actions, using a behavioral engine and abstract machine engine to create persistent, scalable, and realistic network traffic without the need for dedicated hardware, allowing for the creation of multiple virtual network interfaces and behaviors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If physical hardware is used to create a realistic network environment, then the simulation realism is improved, but the cost and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of network devices and traffic patterns through software-based network actors that replicate the behavior of physical network equipment. These virtual actors generate synthetic network traffic that mimics real network conditions without requiring actual hardware, thereby maintaining simulation realism while eliminating hardware complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical network hardware system with a software-based simulation system. Instead of using physical routers, switches, and cables to create network traffic, the invention uses software actors that generate and manage network traffic through code, substituting the physical mechanical system with an information-processing software system
2Quantity of substance
If physical hardware is procured to simulate large networks, then the network scale is improved, but the cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses virtual copies of network devices represented as software actors that can be instantiated in large numbers without additional hardware costs. Each virtual actor represents a network device and generates appropriate traffic patterns, allowing the simulation of large-scale networks using minimal physical infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of network device representation from physical hardware to software-based virtual actors. This parameter change allows the system to scale from simulating a few physical devices to simulating thousands of network devices without proportional increases in cost, as software instances can be created and managed at marginal cost
3Reliability
If physical network equipment is used, then the traffic realism is improved, but the equipment must be refreshed frequently due to obsolescence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual representations of network traffic and devices that can be updated through software changes rather than hardware replacement. The virtual actors and their traffic generation patterns can be modified, updated, or replaced without physical constraints, eliminating the obsolescence issue inherent in physical equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamic software-based system where network actors and traffic patterns can be continuously updated and adapted. Unlike static physical hardware with fixed lifespans, the software-based virtual actors can be modified to reflect new network conditions, protocols, and behaviors indefinitely, providing unlimited operational duration through software updates
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, devices, and systems are disclosed for simulating a large, realistic computer network. Virtual actors statistically emulate the behaviors of humans using networked devices or responses and automatic functions of networked equipment, and their stochastic actions are queued in buffer pools by a behavioral engine. An abstract machine engine creates the minimal interfaces needed for each actor, and the interfaces then communicate persistently over a network with each other and real and virtual network resources to form realistic network traffic. The network can respond to outside stimuli, such as a network mapping application, by responding with false views of the network in order to spoof hackers, and the actors can respond by altering a software defined network upon which they operate.