System Administrator Simulation Trainer (SAST)
The Department of Defense and their supporting contractors rely increasingly on computers and networks, and the highly dynamic nature of those networks and the tools needed to protect them against attacks makes maintaining security increasingly challenging. System administrators are the first line of defense against cyber threats and have extensive access to an organization’s sensitive digital information. However, those jobs typically are entry-level positions filled by young, less experienced staff, with high turnover, resulting in system administrators who lack significant experience which heightens an organization’s vulnerability to cyber assaults.

Most commercially-available security training for computer and network administrators typically involves classroom instruction and a few laboratory exercises to provide some hands-on experience, which allows for quick delivery of security information to students, but does not provide the in-depth experience that is so increasingly necessary to manage complex real-world, real-time events in their workplace.

To assist in fulfilling the void for highly experienced security personnel, the System Administrator Simulation Trainer (SAST) essentially simulates the basic Internet/network environment used by many DoD organizations, creating a unique capability for security personnel and system administrators to both learn and hone their skills. SAST achieves the simulation through the synthetic generation of Internet/network traffic and superimposing actual exploits into it. This mimics the real world where hackers and potential adversaries exploit the networks and computers that the defense of our nation depends upon. SAST offers an isolated network to simulate a larger, real world network under attack by external hackers and adversaries.

In NCASSR-supported Year Three of project work, SAST delivered a prototype training simulator to the U.S. Marine Corps Cyber Security Schoolhouse to augment their curricula. Feedback from students and teachers about their interactions with the simulator and how they applied their experience in the field will generate new requirements on how to improve the delivery and retention of skills through use of simulators. Year Four-supported work on this project will address these needs through additional research and development.
 
Project Leads
Wayne Meitzler, PNNL
Steve Ouderkirk, PNNL

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The National Center for Advanced Secure Systems Research NCASSR) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is a multi-institutional cybersecurity research team. NCASSR focuses basic and applied research necessary to develop next generation information security technologies that address national cybersecurity needs. NCASSR is led by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and supported by funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR).


SELS 0.7 released
Secure Email List Services (SELS) is an open source software for creating and developing secure email list services among user communities.
 
Strong community engagement strengthens cybersecurity research and development
NCASSR-supported exploratory research at NCSA and elsewhere has sparked additional external funding and development opportunities as well as successful deployment and adoption by users ranging from the defense sector to state law enforcement to the utilities industry.
 
NCASSR Collaborator Goes To Washington
Carl Gunter, a professor in the University of Illinois Department of Computer Science and a project lead on NCASSR-supported work involving adaptive, secure messaging, recently spoke to an audience of congressional staffers and lobbyists on Capitol Hill regarding ways to address a variety of critical cybersecurity issues in areas such as healthcare and energy distribution.