biomimicry and cyber

Is it possible to use nature as a source of knowledge for developing cyber solutions? And if so, how?

By: Yael Halfman Cohen

Organizations are currently exposed to cyber attacks and threats to information security. Organisms have also been exposed during evolution to extreme threats to their safety.

In this news we will review 'cyber strategies' in Teva as a source of inspiration and learning. We will end with a success story of an Israeli biomimetic cyber company.

'Cyber ​​strategies' in Teva

In the biological world, the types of threats and their timing are unpredictable. The solution to this problem is to create a defense system that meets a wide range of threats. The immune system, for example, responds to a threat from a wide range of bacteria and viruses. Sometimes, extending the range can come at the expense of efficiency.

One of nature's 'cyber strategies' is redundancy. An example of this is redundancy in protein coding.

All the hereditary information needed to build the proteins in the cell in all known organisms, from bacteria to humans, is encoded in one or more DNA molecules. DNA has several ways to code the same protein, each time in a different way, so that the attackers (parasites, viruses) cannot easily catch it and damage its structure.

Another strategy in nature is to deliberately sacrifice unprotected parts of the system to ensure that important parts survive the attack. Lizards, for example, quickly shed their tails in order to allow the rest of the body, which contains critical life systems, to escape from the predator. Analogously, information systems may have a part that can be sacrificed to the cyber attacker, and its attack exploited to learn about the nature of the attacker. Sufficient time must be allowed to ensure that critical information is not compromised.

Another strategy in nature is isolation. Organisms living in the depths are less exposed to competition and threats, but isolation is also a barrier to development. Of course, it is not possible to completely isolate organizations from technology and the threats associated with its use. Accepting the risk and preparing accordingly is the common way among the organisms in nature, and it is the way that may serve organizations as well.

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'Cyber'

Cyber, an Israeli cyber company, has developed a solution based on biological defense mechanisms. At the beginning of their journey, the founders of the company consulted with a microbiologist specializing in viruses that act on the human body. They learned that one of nature's strategies is to change the receptors (receptors in the body), so that the virus cannot easily connect to the attacked cell.

Inspired by this strategy, the Cyber ​​company developed software, which changes the location of the elements in the operating system that are essential for the purpose of the attack and places some kind of traps in their place. The software includes an 'envelope' of failure and deception and prevents an attack even before it takes place.

The Israeli Cyber ​​was sold to Palo Alto Networks in 2014 for two hundred and twenty million dollars.
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