Move and Countermove: Game Theory Aspects of Detection Engineering

This article presents detection engineering as a continuous, adversarial game of move and countermove, using the evolution of PowerShell obfuscation, AMSI bypasses, and living-off-the-land techniques to illustrate adaptive attacker behavior. Applying game-theory concepts like economics, mixed strategies, and Nash equilibria, it argues for focusing on high-leverage, behavior-based detections that span multiple techniques, anticipating attacker adaptations, and building a diversified detection portfolio that raises attacker costs while maintaining manageable false positives.