Author

Briant Becote

Date of Award

Spring 2-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Cyber Operations (PhDCO)

Department

Computer Science

First Advisor

Bhaskar Rimal

Second Advisor

Ronghua Shan

Third Advisor

Yong Wang

Abstract

Cyber operations are influenced by a wide range of environmental characteristics, strategic policies, organizational procedures, complex networks, and the individuals who attack and defend these cyber battlegrounds. While no two cyber operations are identical, leveraging the power of computational modeling will enable decision-makers to understand and evaluate the effect of these influences prior to their impact on mission success. Given the complexity of these influences, this research proposes an agent-based modeling framework that will result in an operational performance dashboard for user analysis. To account for cyber team behavioral characteristics, this research includes the development and validation of the Cyber Operations Self-Efficacy Scales (COSES). The underlying statistics, algorithms, research instruments, and equations to support the overall framework are provided. This research represents the most comprehensive cyber operations agent-based performance analysis tools published to date.

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