The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to develop self-healing computers that are capable of safeguarding themselves from cyberattacks.
The agency said Friday these capabilities are possible by addressing gaps in forensic data on a data-sharing service dubbed ‘the bus.’
DARPA’s Red-C Program
Defense Department vehicles and personal computers are examples of bus-based systems that lack the proper protection from cyberthreats. DARPA intends to safeguard these critical systems by utilizing the Reclaiming Bus-based Systems During Compromise, or Red-C, program to develop the algorithms that create self-healing systems.
The agency will also look into the possibility of retrofitting firmware with forensic sensors, allowing components to monitor each other. This capability enables on-system detection, repair and inoculation. Existing threat detection services happen off-system.
DARPA recently managed to build a dataset that can detect 99 percent of ransomware. The focus will now shift to the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express and Compute Express Link. The aim is to develop a prototype with PCIe/CXL bus architectures that should enable the system to identify and receive from attacks.
Bernie McShea, DARPA Red-C program manager, said, “The reason these vulnerabilities continue, even in new technology, is because manufacturers build bus systems as a collection of independent black-box components. “We must create better instrumentation and cooperative responses to detect, repair, and inoculate on-system.”
