Assessing Risk in High Performance Computing Attacks

Erika Leal, Cimone Wright-Hamor, Joseph Manzano, Nicholas Multari, Kevin Barker, David Manz, Jiang Ming

2023

Abstract

High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems are used to push the frontier of science. However, the security of these systems remains a significant concern as the number of cyber-attacks on HPC systems have increased. Attacks on HPC systems can threaten data confidentiality, integrity, and system availability. Thus, if left unaddressed, these threats could decrease the ability to push the frontier of science. While HPC and enterprise systems are found to have similar threats, traditional security solutions are insufficient for HPC systems. This research examines HPC attacks by using NIST Special Publication 800-30r1: Guide to Conducting Risk Assessments to create a generalized threat profile. A threat profile characterizes the threat sources and adversarial outsiders and is used to identify traditional security solutions that could mitigate risks. Results demonstrated that attacks originated at the login nodes, followed by coordinated campaigns that propagated the attacks across organizational systems. The traditional security solutions that could be used to protect the login nodes negatively impact HPC performance. These performance impacts impede the ability to push the frontier of science. As a result, these security solutions are unlikely to be deployed in HPC systems.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Leal E., Wright-Hamor C., Manzano J., Multari N., Barker K., Manz D. and Ming J. (2023). Assessing Risk in High Performance Computing Attacks. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - Volume 1: ICISSP, ISBN 978-989-758-624-8, pages 793-803. DOI: 10.5220/0011900500003405

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icissp23,
author={Erika Leal and Cimone Wright-Hamor and Joseph Manzano and Nicholas Multari and Kevin Barker and David Manz and Jiang Ming},
title={Assessing Risk in High Performance Computing Attacks},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - Volume 1: ICISSP,},
year={2023},
pages={793-803},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0011900500003405},
isbn={978-989-758-624-8},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Information Systems Security and Privacy - Volume 1: ICISSP,
TI - Assessing Risk in High Performance Computing Attacks
SN - 978-989-758-624-8
AU - Leal E.
AU - Wright-Hamor C.
AU - Manzano J.
AU - Multari N.
AU - Barker K.
AU - Manz D.
AU - Ming J.
PY - 2023
SP - 793
EP - 803
DO - 10.5220/0011900500003405