Building General Knowledge of Mechanisms in Information Security.
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| Title: | Building General Knowledge of Mechanisms in Information Security. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Spring, Jonathan M.1 (AUTHOR) jspring@cs.ucl.ac.uk, Illari, Phyllis2 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Philosophy & Technology. Dec2019, Vol. 32 Issue 4, p627-659. 33p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Computer networks, *Computer security, Information technology security, Botnets, Cyberterrorism, Philosophy of science |
| Abstract: | We show how more general knowledge can be built in information security, by the building of knowledge of mechanism clusters, some of which are multifield. By doing this, we address in a novel way the longstanding philosophical problem of how, if at all, we come to have knowledge that is in any way general, when we seem to be confined to particular experiences. We also address the issue of building knowledge of mechanisms by studying an area that is new to the mechanisms literature: the methods of what we shall call mechanism discovery in information security. This domain offers a fascinating novel constellation of challenges for building more general knowledge. Specifically, the building of stable communicable mechanistic knowledge is impeded by the inherent changeability of software, which is deployed by malicious actors constantly changing how their software attacks, and also by an ineliminable secrecy concerning the details of attacks not just by attackers (black hats), but also by information security defenders (white hats) as they protect their methods from both attackers and commercial competitors. We draw out ideas from the work of the mechanists Darden, Craver, and Glennan to yield an approach to how general knowledge of mechanisms can be painstakingly built. We then use three related examples of active research problems from information security (botnets, computer network attacks, and malware analysis) to develop philosophical thinking about building general knowledge using mechanisms, and also apply this to develop insights for information security. We show that further study would be instructive both for practitioners (who might welcome the help in conceptualizing what they do) and for philosophers (who will find novel insights into building general knowledge of a highly changeable domain that has been neglected within philosophy of science). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Philosophy & Technology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 139744140 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Building General Knowledge of Mechanisms in Information Security. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Spring%2C+Jonathan+M%2E%22">Spring, Jonathan M.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> jspring@cs.ucl.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Illari%2C+Phyllis%22">Illari, Phyllis</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Philosophy+%26+Technology%22">Philosophy & Technology</searchLink>. Dec2019, Vol. 32 Issue 4, p627-659. 33p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+networks%22">Computer networks</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+security%22">Computer security</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+technology+security%22">Information technology security</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Botnets%22">Botnets</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cyberterrorism%22">Cyberterrorism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Philosophy+of+science%22">Philosophy of science</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: We show how more general knowledge can be built in information security, by the building of knowledge of mechanism clusters, some of which are multifield. By doing this, we address in a novel way the longstanding philosophical problem of how, if at all, we come to have knowledge that is in any way general, when we seem to be confined to particular experiences. We also address the issue of building knowledge of mechanisms by studying an area that is new to the mechanisms literature: the methods of what we shall call mechanism discovery in information security. This domain offers a fascinating novel constellation of challenges for building more general knowledge. Specifically, the building of stable communicable mechanistic knowledge is impeded by the inherent changeability of software, which is deployed by malicious actors constantly changing how their software attacks, and also by an ineliminable secrecy concerning the details of attacks not just by attackers (black hats), but also by information security defenders (white hats) as they protect their methods from both attackers and commercial competitors. We draw out ideas from the work of the mechanists Darden, Craver, and Glennan to yield an approach to how general knowledge of mechanisms can be painstakingly built. We then use three related examples of active research problems from information security (botnets, computer network attacks, and malware analysis) to develop philosophical thinking about building general knowledge using mechanisms, and also apply this to develop insights for information security. We show that further study would be instructive both for practitioners (who might welcome the help in conceptualizing what they do) and for philosophers (who will find novel insights into building general knowledge of a highly changeable domain that has been neglected within philosophy of science). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Philosophy & Technology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s13347-018-0329-z Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 33 StartPage: 627 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Computer networks Type: general – SubjectFull: Computer security Type: general – SubjectFull: Information technology security Type: general – SubjectFull: Botnets Type: general – SubjectFull: Cyberterrorism Type: general – SubjectFull: Philosophy of science Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Building General Knowledge of Mechanisms in Information Security. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Spring, Jonathan M. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Illari, Phyllis IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 12 Text: Dec2019 Type: published Y: 2019 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 22105433 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 32 – Type: issue Value: 4 Titles: – TitleFull: Philosophy & Technology Type: main |
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