What are some of the best practices and lessons learned from using game theory for cybersecurity?

1 Modeling cyberattacks

One of the first steps in using game theory for cybersecurity is to model the cyberattack scenarios and the possible actions and payoffs of the attackers and the defenders. This can be done using different types of games, such as zero-sum games, non-zero-sum games, sequential games, simultaneous games, repeated games, stochastic games, and incomplete information games. Depending on the game, you may need to specify the players, the strategies, the outcomes, the probabilities, the utilities, the information sets, and the beliefs of the agents. A good model should capture the relevant features and trade-offs of the cyberattack situation, but also be simple and tractable enough to allow for analysis and solution.

3 Analyzing and improving cyber resilience

A third benefit of using game theory for cybersecurity is to analyze and improve the cyber resilience of a system or a network. Cyber resilience is the ability to withstand, recover from, and adapt to cyberattacks. You can use game theory to measure the cyber resilience of a system or a network by evaluating its robustness, redundancy, diversity, adaptability, and responsiveness. You can also use game theory to enhance the cyber resilience of a system or a network by identifying and mitigating the vulnerabilities, risks, and threats, by designing and implementing contingency plans and recovery strategies, and by learning and updating from past experiences and feedback.

4 Fostering collaboration and information sharing

A fourth advantage of using game theory for cybersecurity is to foster collaboration and information sharing among defenders. Cybersecurity is a collective action problem that requires coordination and cooperation among multiple stakeholders, such as governments, organizations, businesses, and individuals. However, there may be barriers and challenges to collaboration and information sharing, such as free-riding, competition, mistrust, privacy, and security. You can use game theory to overcome these barriers and challenges by designing and implementing mechanisms that can incentivize, facilitate, and regulate collaboration and information sharing among defenders, such as contracts, protocols, standards, platforms, and norms.

Using game theory for cybersecurity can help you understand, predict, influence, and improve the strategic interactions among cyberattackers and defenders. It can also help you develop more effective and efficient cybersecurity policies and practices. However, using game theory for cybersecurity also requires some caution and limitations, such as acknowledging the limitations of rationality and utility, accounting for the complexity and dynamics of cyber environments, and avoiding over-reliance and misuse of game theory models and solutions.