Game Theory and Cyber Kill Chain: A Strategic Approach to Cybersecurity

Digitalisation within industries is associated with many positive opportunities and simultaneously poses considerable cybersecurity-related threats. Cybersecurity is a critical concern for many industries, such as railway, aviation, mining, healthcare, and finance, where critical information is at risk of being compromised as well as the operations security. Today, researchers are looking into various solutions to tackle cybersecurity risks and still retain the desired function of the system. However, it is believed that these challenges can be approached by the integration of game theory and Cyber Kill Chain (CKC) which describe the different stages of a cyberattack to understand the chaotic situation of cybersecurity. Thus, the objective of the paper is to propose a game-based approach using game theory to address cybersecurity risks within industries by modelling the strategic interaction between attacker and defender in the Cyber Kill Chain (CKC). This approach aims to enhance understanding of the complex challenges and facilitate the development of effective cybersecurity solutions. This approach will help in evaluating the effectiveness of different security strategies. The proposed strategic approach uses a non-cooperative game which is based on mixed strategies. The authors have defined a scenario for simultaneous-move games by estimating values for various elements of the game. By analysing the behaviour of both attacker and defender, the proposed game-based approach can help industries to develop more effective and efficient security strategies. Further, the proposed approach will provide a better understanding of the complex challenges of cybersecurity in industrial contexts. It can also be used to develop appropriate strategies to mitigate cybersecurity risks.