Network Mission Assurance

The doctrine of Network Mission Assurance (NMA) evaluates the value of information assurance and the risk of computer threats based upon their impact on the organizational functions supported by the network. The NMA framework is comprised of four technical functions: Asset Identification, Infrastructure Model and Control, Threat Analysis and Prediction, and Response Coordination. Our research in support of the NMA investigates technical solutions for trust-based resource control, reflective and reconfigurable network services, autonomic network defense, and cyber-attack representation. We contend that NMA unifies the purpose and function of separate information assurance programs into a holistic, network-centric solution.