The NetSecGame (NSG) works as a game server - agents connect to it via TCP sockets and interact with the environment using the standard RL communication loop: Agent submits action and receives new observation of the environment. The NSG supports real-time, highly customizable multi-agent simulations.
The following classes are used in the game to hold information about the state of the game. They are used both in the Actions and GameState. See the API Reference for GameComponents
IP is immutable object that represents an IPv4 object in the NetSecGame. It has a single parameter of the address in a dot-decimal notation (4 octet represented as decimal value separated by dots).
Example:
ip = IP("192.168.1.1")Network is immutable object that represents an IPv4 network object in the NetSecGame. It has 2 parameters:
network_ip:strrepresenting the IPv4 address of the network.mask:intrepresenting the mask in the CIDR notation.
Example:
net = Network("192.168.1.0", 24)Service class holds information about services running in hosts. Each Service has four parameters:
name:str - Name of the service (e.g., "SSH")type:str -passive,activeorunknown(default).version:str - version of the service.is_local:bool - flag specifying if the service is local only (default=True). (ifTrue, service is NOT visible without controlling the host).
Example:
s = Service('postgresql', 'passive', '14.3.0', False)Data class holds information about datapoints (files) present in the NetSecGame. Each data instance has two parameters:
owner:str - specifying the user who owns this datapointid: str - unique identifier of the datapoint in a hostsize: int - size of the datapoint (optional, default=0)type: str - identification of a type of the file (optional, default="")content: str - content of the data (optional, default="")
Examples:
d1 = Data("User1", "DatabaseData")
d2 = Data("User1", "DatabaseData", size=42, type="txt", description="SecretUserDatabase")GameState is an object that represents a view of the NetSecGame environment in a given state. It is constructed as a collection of 'assets' available to the agent. GameState has following parts:
known_networks: Set of Network objects that the agent is aware ofknown_hosts: Set of IP objects that the agent is aware ofcontrolled_hosts: Set of IP objects that the agent has control over. Note thatcontrolled_hostsis a subset ofknown_hosts.known_services: Dictionary of services that the agent is aware of. The dictionary format: {IP: {Service}} where IP object is a key and the value is a set of Service objects located in theIP.known_data: Dictionary of data instances that the agent is aware of. The dictionary format: {IP: {Data}} where IP object is a key and the value is a set of Data objects located in theIP.known_blocks: Dictionary of firewall blocks the agent is aware of. It is a dictionary with format: {target_IP: {blocked_IP,blocked_IP}}. Wheretarget_IPis the IP where the FW rule was applied (usually a router) andblocked_IPis the IP address that is blocked. For now the blocks happen in both input and output direction simultaneously.
Actions are the objects sent by the agents to the environment. Each action is evaluated by NetSecGame and executed if
- It is a valid Action
- Can be processed in the current state of the environment
In all cases, when an agent sends an action to NetSecGame, it is given a response.
The Action consists of two parts
- ActionType - specifying the class of the action
- parameters - dictionary with specific parameters related to the used ActionType
- JoinGame, params={
agent_info:AgentInfo(<name>,<role>)}: Used to register agent in a game with a given<role>. - QuitGame, params={}: Used for termination of agent's interaction.
- ResetGame, params={
request_trajectory:bool(default=False),randomize_topology=bool(default=True)}: Used for requesting reset of the game to its initial position. Ifrequest_trajectory = True, the coordinator will send back the complete trajectory of the previous run in the next message. Ifrandomize_topology=True, the agent request topology to be changed in the next episode. NOTE: the topology is changed only if (i) theuse_dynamic_addressesis set toTruein the task configuration AND all active agents ask for the change.
- ScanNetwork, params{
source_host:<IP>,target_network:<Network>}: Scans the given<Network>from a specified source host. Discovers ALL hosts in a network that are accessible from<IP>. If successful, returns set of discovered<IP>objects. - FindServices, params={
source_host:<IP>,target_host:<IP>}: Used to discover ALL services running in thetarget_hostif the host is accessible fromsource_host. If successful, returns a set of all discovered<Service>objects. - FindData, params={
source_host:<IP>,target_host:<IP>}: Searchestarget_hostfor data. Ifsource_hostdiffers fromtarget_host, success depends on accessibility from thesource_host. If successful, returns a set of all discovered<Data>objects. - ExploitService, params={
source_host:<IP>,target_host:<IP>,target_service:<Service>}: Exploitstarget_servicein a specifiedtarget_host. If successful, the attacker gains control of thetarget_host. - ExfiltrateData, params{
source_host:<IP>,target_host:<IP>,data:<Data>}: Copiesdatafrom thesource_hosttotarget_hostIF both are controlled andtarget_hostis accessible fromsource_host. - BlockIP, params{
source_host:<IP>,target_host:<IP>,blocked_host:<IP>}: Blocks communication from/toblocked_hostontarget_host. Requires control oftarget_host.
In the following table, we describe the effects of selected actions and their preconditions. Note that if the preconditions are not satisfied, the actions's effects are not applied.
| Action | Params | Preconditions | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| ScanNetwork | source_host, target_network |
source_host ∈ controlled_hosts |
extends known_networks |
| FindServices | source_host, target_host |
source_host ∈ controlled_hosts |
extends known_services AND known_hosts |
| FindData | source_host, target_host |
source_host, target_host ∈ controlled_hosts |
extends known_data |
| Exploit Service | source_host, target_host, target_service |
source_host ∈ controlled_hosts |
extends controlled_hosts with target_host |
| ExfiltrateData | source_host,target_host, data |
source_host, target_host ∈ controlled_hosts AND data ∈ known_data |
extends known_data[target_host] with data |
| BlockIP | source_host, target_host, blocked_host |
source_host ∈ controlled_hosts |
extends known_blocks[target_host] with blocked_host |
- When playing the
ExploitServiceaction, it is expected that the agent has discovered this service before (by playingFindServicesin thetarget_hostbefore this action) - The
FindDataaction finds all the available data in the host if successful. - The
FindDataaction requires ownership of the target host. - Playing
ExfiltrateDatarequires controlling BOTH source and target hosts - Playing
Find Servicescan be used to discover hosts (if those have any active services) - Parameters of
ScanNetworkandFindServicescan be chosen arbitrarily (they don't have to be listed inknown_networks/known_hosts)
After submitting Action a to the environment, agents receive an Observation in return. Each observation consists of 4 parts:
state:Gamestate- with the current view of the environment statereward:int- with the immediate reward agent gets for playing Actionaend:bool- indicating if the interaction can continue after playing Actionainfo:dict- placeholder for any information given to the agent (e.g., the reason whyend is True)