Attack tree

Attack trees are conceptual diagrams showing how an asset, or target, might be attacked. Attack trees have been used in a variety of applications. In the field of information technology, they have been used to describe <a href="/facts/Threat/uKM8t6DD">threats on computer systems</a> and possible <a href="/facts/Attack_(computing)/6PSQzq7y">attacks</a> to realize those threats. However, their use is not restricted to the analysis of conventional information systems. They are widely used in the fields of defense and aerospace for the analysis of threats against tamper resistant electronics systems (e.g., avionics on military aircraft). Attack trees are increasingly being applied to computer control systems (especially relating to the electric <a href="/facts/Electric_power_transmission/I9w3lRmM">power grid</a>). Attack trees have also been used to understand threats to physical systems.
Some of the earliest descriptions of attack trees are found in papers and articles by <a href="/facts/Bruce_Schneier/kWxPFPmQ">Bruce Schneier</a>, when he was <a href="/facts/Chief_Technology_Officer/0JRJyEoL">CTO</a> of <a href="/facts/Counterpane_Internet_Security/oYXHq8VD">Counterpane Internet Security</a>. Schneier was clearly involved in the development of attack tree concepts and was instrumental in publicizing them. However, the attributions in some of the early publicly available papers on attack trees also suggest the involvement of the <a href="/facts/National_Security_Agency/Sg6MGV1o">National Security Agency</a> in the initial development.
Attack trees are very similar, if not identical, to threat trees. Threat trees were developed by Jonathan Weiss of Bell Laboratories to comply with guidance in MIL STD 1785 for AT&T's work on Command and Control for federal applications, and were first described in his paper in 1982. This work was later discussed in 1994 by Edward Amoroso.

Attack tree open-in-new

Attack tree