The U.S. Army has initiated an international research program for moving target defense technology, able to protect information in computer systems from potential threats.

The Army Research Laboratory said Sept. 6 researchers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand spearheaded the development of the Flexible Random Virtual IP Multiplexing system.

ARL researcher Frederica Nelson noted that the MTD technique can help protect defense systems, allowing warfighters to execute their missions in the presence of enemies within contested environments.

FRVM randomly modifies the virtual internet protocol address of the server-host to discourage adversaries from launching attacks, according to Dong Seong Kim, senior lecturer in cybersecurity at UC.

He added that FVRM provides flexibility in making multiple, random and time-variant IP addresses in a host, hindering adversaries from quickly identifying the IP address of the target host.

The MTD research team immersed the technology in different conditions to test its ability to scan attacks.

"Our next step is to study the trade-off in the FRVM between the dual conflicting goals of system security and performance, as proactive defense may introduce adverse effects when running MTD techniques while achieving enhanced security," Kim said.