Security Aspects of Military Sensor-Based Defence Systems

The Australian Defence Force has IMAP and JMAP to perform planning prior to the deployment of forces, but due to the dynamic nature of modern warfare there is a knowledge and security gap for on-ground forces during the execution of an operation. Multi-agent based sensor systems can provide on-ground forces with a significant amount of real-time information that can be used to modify planning due to changed conditions. Future planning will require automated agents planners capable of semi-autonomous generated plans and courses of action. Multi-agent sensor systems will also provide cyber security and management of system performance and human C2 workload. This will become a critical C3 ISTAR capability as multi-agents are faster than humans for path planning and resource allocation in multivariate, dynamic, time-pressured environments. The issue with such sensor systems is the degree to which they are vulnerable to attack by opposing forces. This paper explores the types of attack that could be successful using the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol as an example and proposes defences that could be put in place to circumvent or minimise the effect of an attack.