A Definitive Interoperability Test Methodology for the Malicious Activity Simulation Tool (MAST)

The threat of degradation or disruption from cyber infiltration, espionage, and theft to militarily and nationally critical information and network systems poses a significant challenge to DoD and DON. To mitigate this challenge, network administrators must be trained to properly recognize and defend against malicious activity. The Malicious Activity Simulation Tool MAST, a software program under development at NPS, mimics the behavior and impact of network-based malware in an effort to train the administrators of operational DoD networks both to respond to the threats such materials present to their networks and to assess their competence in recognizing and responding to such threats. In order for MAST to achieve its potential as an acceptable assessment and training tool, it must first be shown to present no new threat to the environment for which it was designed. This thesis develops a step-by-step testing procedure, the execution of which will demonstrate that MAST can perform at a level commensurate with current criteria for operating securely on DoD networks. Additionally, this thesis discusses the quantitative testing environment and current testing and implementation methods and criteria for new cyber hardware and software programs of record in the DoD.