Communicators train to face enemies on digital battlefield

  • Published
  • By Gerald Sonnenberg
  • Air Force Communications Agency Public Affairs
In millions of real-world attacks each year, hackers from every corner of the Earth try to crack through computer network defenses.

But in the Air Force Communications Agency’s simulator training exercises here, the attacks come from hackers a mere 30 feet away.

The defenders are Airmen from network operations and security centers and network control centers around the Air Force. The cyber-salvos come from the agency’s engineers, who launch attacks they know will make the defenders have to think on their feet and react quickly when their computer screens indicate an assault. Watching the duel is a little like watching a one-sided game of “battleship,” officials said.

“It’s not a matter of winning or losing,” said Chet Ratcliffe, the agency’s lead engineer, who wrote many of the scenarios and scripts for the exercises. “Teams have to be tough and learn quickly in this environment.”

"Our aggressors are capable of a wide variety of attacks,” Mr. Ratcliffe said. “(The attacks) may initially come in the form of light network scanning, then advance to nuisance attacks like popup windows on browsers. Finally, they can culminate into full-fledged attacks, (such as) breaking into a computer, locking out users and stealing data, thus creating total havoc on the network."

The cyber-warriors under attack must practice a sort of digital battlefield triage, officials said. They take on five or six network operations and defense activities at once, prioritizing their actions to defeat the most dangerous threats to the networks.

“We throw everything we can at them so they’re ready when they see it for real,” Mr. Ratcliffe said.

Ultimately, the exercises are there to train and provide practice for the communicators fighting in the trenches on the cyberspace battlefield, officials said.

“These events make tons of training available, as well as tools and interaction with other bases,” said Tech. Sgt. Steve Gaylor, from the 43rd Communications Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, N.C. “It’s like the real world and teaches us what signs to look for during an attack. I actually wish it was longer because I get so much out of it every day.”