Jay Barach^*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.86, No.2, pp. 1-23, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.071705 - 09 December 2025

Abstract Human Resource (HR) operations increasingly rely on cloud-based platforms that provide hiring, payroll, employee management, and compliance services. These systems, typically built on multi-tenant microservice architectures, offer scalability and efficiency but also expand the attack surface for adversaries. Ransomware has emerged as a leading threat in this domain, capable of halting workflows and exposing sensitive employee records. Traditional defenses such as static hardening and signature-based detection often fail to address the dynamic requirements of HR Software as a Service (SaaS), where continuous availability and privacy compliance are critical. This paper presents a Moving Target Defense… More >

Zesheng Xi^1,2,#, Chuan He^1,3,#, Yunfan Wang^1,3,#, Bo Zhang^1,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.144, No.2, pp. 2545-2565, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2025.066822 - 31 August 2025

Abstract The increasing reliance on interconnected Internet of Things (IoT) devices has amplified the demand for robust anonymization strategies to protect device identities and ensure secure communication. However, traditional anonymization methods for IoT networks often rely on static identity models, making them vulnerable to inference attacks through long-term observation. Moreover, these methods tend to sacrifice data availability to protect privacy, limiting their practicality in real-world applications. To overcome these limitations, we propose a dynamic device identity anonymization framework using Moving Target Defense (MTD) principles implemented via Software-Defined Networking (SDN). In our model, the SDN controller periodically… More >

Rongbo Sun, Jinlong Fei^*, Yuefei Zhu, Zhongyu Guo

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.84, No.2, pp. 3765-3786, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2025.064849 - 03 July 2025

Abstract Moving Target Defense (MTD) necessitates scientifically effective decision-making methodologies for defensive technology implementation. While most MTD decision studies focus on accurately identifying optimal strategies, the issue of optimal defense timing remains underexplored. Current default approaches—periodic or overly frequent MTD triggers—lead to suboptimal trade-offs among system security, performance, and cost. The timing of MTD strategy activation critically impacts both defensive efficacy and operational overhead, yet existing frameworks inadequately address this temporal dimension. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes a Stackelberg-FlipIt game model that formalizes asymmetric cyber conflicts as alternating control over attack surfaces, thereby capturing More >

Jiajun Yan, Ying Zhou^*, Anchen Dai, Tao Wang

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.79, No.1, pp. 563-580, 2024, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2024.048922 - 25 April 2024

Abstract As an emerging network paradigm, the software-defined network (SDN) finds extensive application in areas such as smart grids, the Internet of Things (IoT), and edge computing. The forwarding layer in software-defined networks is susceptible to eavesdropping attacks. Route hopping is a moving target defense (MTD) technology that is frequently employed to resist eavesdropping attacks. In the traditional route hopping technology, both request and reply packets use the same hopping path. If an eavesdropping attacker monitors the nodes along this path, the risk of 100% data leakage becomes substantial. In this paper, we present an effective… More >

Sang Seo¹, Jaeyeon Lee², Byeongjin Kim², Woojin Lee², Dohoon Kim^3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.77, No.2, pp. 2595-2628, 2023, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2023.042668 - 29 November 2023

Abstract Moving-target-defense (MTD) fundamentally avoids an illegal initial compromise by asymmetrically increasing the uncertainty as the attack surface of the observable defender changes depending on spatial-temporal mutations. However, the existing naive MTD studies were conducted focusing only on wired network mutations. And these cases have also been no formal research on wireless aircraft domains with attributes that are extremely unfavorable to embedded system operations, such as hostility, mobility, and dependency. Therefore, to solve these conceptual limitations, this study proposes normalized drone-type MTD that maximizes defender superiority by mutating the unique fingerprints of wireless drones and that… More >

Huan Zhang¹, Kangfeng Zheng^{1, *}, Xiujuan Wang², Shoushan Luo¹, Bin Wu¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.62, No.2, pp. 763-786, 2020, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2020.06553

Abstract As a core component of the network, web applications have become one of the preferred targets for attackers because the static configuration of web applications simplifies the exploitation of vulnerabilities by attackers. Although the moving target defense (MTD) has been proposed to increase the attack difficulty for the attackers, there is no solo approach can cope with different attacks; in addition, it is impossible to implement all these approaches simultaneously due to the resource limitation. Thus, the selection of an optimal defense strategy based on MTD has become the focus of research. In general, the… More >