The Minimax Strategy - How to Protect Against Catastrophic Risks
The Minimax theorem, a key concept in game theory, offers valuable insights for risk and cybersecurity professionals. Originally developed for zero-sum games with perfect information, it also applies to scenarios with imperfect information. The theorem states that in zero-sum games (where one player’s gain is exactly balanced by the other’s loss), each player can choose a strategy to minimise their maximum possible loss — known as the minimax strategy. This approach limits worst-case losses, even against an optimal adversary. While cybersecurity scenarios aren’t always perfectly zero-sum, the analogy is useful because a defender’s loss (a successful attack) is often the attacker’s gain. ...