Defining and Computing a Value Based Cyber-Security Measure

Abstract

In past work, we presented a value based measure of cybersecurity that quantifies the security of a system in concrete terms, specifically, in terms of how much each system stakeholder stands to lose (in dollars per hour of operation) as a result of security threats and system vulnerabilities\; our metric varies according to the stakes that each stakeholder has in meeting each security requirement. In this paper we discuss the specification and design of a system that collects, updates and maintains all the information that pertains to estimating our cybersecurity measure, and offers stakeholders quantitative means to make security-related decisions.