What are Attack Trees?

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History
Bruce Schneier was the first person to remark about attack trees which can be found in papers and articles in 1999. Some of the early papers which were open to public also shows the participation of NASA in evolution of attack trees. NASA called it Fault tree analysis. Now it has become one of the most reliable probabilistic assessment technique based on logic techniques and probability techniques. These techniques originated in 1960 in US missile facilities.
“In the year 1981 the US NRC issued the Fault tree handbook”. [3]
Attack Trees
Attack trees are visual representations of security loopholes. They are models representing of security loopholes. They are model representing the likelihood of dangers by using the branch model. From the branch model we can also estimate prevention from the threats. These attacks attack trees have wide applications in various fields. The IT & security advisors use these attack trees among other prevention techniques for finding loopholes in the model and correcting them.
All possible attack paths are devised from the model by the security analysts. The attack tree method are most commonly implemented in area of computer security but can be implemented in field of cyber security, but can be implemented in other fields too.
The main purpose of attack, like retrieving classified documents or robbing cash, is the basis of attack tree. Every node or branch of the attack tree is representing various methods for achieving that purpose, and these nodes are subdivided into more options for implementing these methods.
As we have a visual chart of possible loopholes in a structure it is possible to assign codes of various hardship levels to various objects on the representations. It also helps the e...

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...ich are difficult to make exactly.
Attack trees don't take into account the secondary aspects. Like in some cases it may be enough to snap an attacker instead of averting the intrusion.
“Attack trees must indeed be intrusion directed cyclic graphs”. [4]
It might be tough to split up an attack into separate steps.
Attack trees never take into account the fact that any person on the whole globe can begin a remote intrusion over Internet, but limited number of persons can really crack into the system physically.
Attack trees are certainly constructed to assess a targeted intrusion. Almost all the computer intrusions are not targeted.

Conclusion:
The attacks highlight the shortcomings in the system, trace them and correct the problem. Almost all major IT firms, defense systems and Cyber related organizations imply these methods in their security prevention mechanisms.

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