West Point, MacB sign CRADA aimed at cyber operations
NewsOctober 29, 2018
LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, Maryland. Officials at the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Enlighten IT Consulting -- a MacAulay-Brown, Inc. (MacB) subsidiary, an Alion Company.
The research agreement provides advanced data analytics and tackles system challenges including how the application of analytics within key cyber terrain can help battlefield commanders make decisions about network vulnerabilities, and how these applications can influence combined mission planning.
Enlighten Lead Data Scientist Steve Henderson, PhD, a former USMA instructor, along with Dr. Patrick J. Driscoll, USMA Department of Systems Engineering, will lead a team of engineers and data scientists from both organizations in the collaborative effort. Several cadets will also participate as part of their senior engineering capstone design projects.
Research teams will develop a framework for identifying cyber key terrain for maneuver units based on their mission, assigned troops and equipment, and the enemy. This framework will guide risk assessments, mission planning, and enemy targeting. The overarching goal is to provide a model that allows battlefield commanders and staff to make decisions about a modern battlefield that is influenced by cyber operations.
The majority of work will be performed at USMA facilities in New York.
“There has been little work done at the intersection of cyber space and traditional kinetic operations, and this research will produce models for identifying and detecting key terrain across various cyberspace layers and integrate them into mission planning,” says Dr. Henderson. “This collaboration will provide Enlighten with an untapped research base, and West Point with the outside perspective and expertise to inject realism for cadets to execute cutting-edge data science techniques.
