High-Fidelity Virtualization for Cyber Operations

Most modern hypervisors rely on virtualized hardware to meet minimum requirements of computing, leading to low-fidelity virtual systems as compared to their non-virtualized counterparts. Higher-fidelity virtualization can be achieved by more effectively emulating the physical characteristics of machines in virtual environments to support offensive cyber operations, which require virtualization of an adversary's network for developing and rehearsing cyber-attacks. This paper characterizes fidelity variance between virtual machines and their physical counterparts, based on their unique characteristics and potential for application in a high-fidelity virtualization model. It presents an in-depth analysis of five variance categories to assess the challenges and practicality of their implementation in a high-fidelity virtualization environment.