Aussie cyber companies collaborate on training program for ADF

A group of cyber companies have collaborated to create a successful pilot of a fully online, collective cyber training program for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Australian businesses Cydarm Technologies, elttam, FifthDomain, Penten and Retrospect Labs came together to tailor a solution for defence on FifthDomain’s cyber training and simulation platform. Each cyber business brought their own set of capabilities to create a bespoke solution for the ADF.

The aim of the Accelerated Defence Cyber Training (ADCT) Program echoes the current need for remotely accessible training programs, while addressing the requirement to rapidly increase cyber skills across defence and industry.

The online training program was conducted from FifthDomain’s headquarters in Canberra, and delivered remotely to Navy, Army and Air Force personnel across the country. The training was conducted in a realistic virtual environment with simulated exercises. Trainees were grouped into virtual teams to remediate vulnerabilities and respond to simulated and real threat actors.

Cydarm Technologies deployed their case management platform and dashboard as a command and control system to coordinate team activities and provide oversight for the mentors. This enabled trainees in the cybersecurity operations teams to collaborate on responding to incidents, while the mentors assessed their progress.

Elttam, a security company specialising in offensive and defensive security services, served as cyber threat actors for the ADF trainees, tailoring realistic adversarial scenarios by employing the Tactics Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) found in real-world cyber attacks.

FifthDomain, project lead and provider of the training and simulation platform, specialises in cyber operations workforce development. FifthDomain’s cyber ranges can integrate niche technologies from its partners; within the context of COVID-19 limitation, the remotely accessible platform enables defence to overcome travel and supply chain challenges.

Penten integrated its unique AI generated content and user behaviour on FifthDomain’s cyber training platform. “The combined solution of additional realism and automation will enhance the training outcomes, reduce the time taken to create the environments and improve the repeatability,” said Ben Whitham, Founder and Director of Penten.

Retrospect Labs co-designed and facilitated multiple cybersecurity exercises as part of the ADF’s Accelerated Defence Cyber Training course. The company leverages its unique exercise platform to remotely manage and deliver exercises to more than 50 ADF trainees across Australia.

Delivery of this program aligned with Australia’s Cyber Security Strategy 2020, which commits AU$1.67 billion over 10 years and outlines a range of initiatives including the growth of the country’s cyber skills pipeline.

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