Date of Graduation
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
Committee Chair
Bojan Cukic
Committee Chair
Bojan Cukic
Abstract
Vulnerability scanners are used to scan and detect known vulnerabilities in computer systems. An attacker can exploit these vulnerabilities to compromise the security of a system and potentially cause harm. Thus, it is vital to detect and repair any vulnerabilities that exist. Vulnerability scanners, however, are themselves susceptible to attack. If an attacker were to compromise a scanner, they could force it ignore the vulnerabilities of other systems. They could then compromise these other computers by exploiting the undetected vulnerabilities. Due to the importance of preventing such false positives in scan results, this research proposes a new approach to vulnerability scanner design that creates an attack resistant scanner. By combining a distributed architecture, encryption, authentication, and integrity checking, the security of the system is heightened. This research also resulted in the development of an emulator, called Arbiter, that successfully demonstrates a more secure design in a live network environment.
Recommended Citation
Shaver, David Phillip, "An attack-resistant approach to vulnerability scanner design." (2005). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD). 10869.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/10869