Attributed multi-objective comprehensive learning particle swarm optimization for optimal security of networks

Abstract

In particle swarm optimization (PSO) each particle uses its personal and global or local best positions by linear summation. However, it is very time consuming to find the global or local best positions in case of complex problems. To overcome this problem, we propose a new multi-objective variant of PSO called attributed multi-objective comprehensive learning particle swarm optimizer (A-MOCLPSO). In this technique, we do not use global or local best positions to modify the velocity of a particle; instead, we use the best position of a randomly selected particle from the whole population to update the velocity of each dimension. This method not only increases the speed of the algorithm but also searches in more promising areas of the search space. We perform an extensive experimentation on well-known benchmark problems such as Schaffer (SCH), Kursawa (KUR), and Zitzler–Deb–Thiele (ZDT) functions. The experiments show very convincing results when the proposed technique is compared with existing versions of PSO known as multi-objective comprehensive learning particle swarm optimizer (MOCLPSO) and multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), as well as non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II). As a case study, we apply our proposed A-MOCLPSO algorithm on an attack tree model for the security hardening problem of a networked system in order to optimize the total security cost and the residual damage, and provide diverse solutions for the problem. The results of our experiments show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the previous solutions obtained for the security hardening problem using NSGA-II, as well as MOCLPSO for the same problem. Hence, the proposed algorithm can be considered as a strong alternative to solve multi-objective optimization problems.