Project Coordinator: Dr. Carmen Elena CÎRNU– Scientific Researcher II

Main objectives

Objective 1 - Strengthening the capacity of cyber security actors in the EU to interconnect independent and federated cyber ranges in EU join CYRESRANGE’s network using an innovative connector (CyberEdu Range Connector), optimized for fast onboarding, cross-range content & scenario management and security of the shared resources while maintaining a cross-cluster repository of scenarios.

Objective 2 - Develop a marketplace of crowdsourced structured trainings & certifications schemes, based on an incentive system for content creators and cyber ranges to combine existing resources in new ways or develop new scenarios using an innovative scenario builder and unified language, agnostic to cyber range technology, optimized for large scale, cross-range exercises able to share knowledge and cybersecurity threat intelligence between stakeholders in the Member States, better monitor cybersecurity threats, and respond jointly to cyber-attacks.

Objective 3 - Support a progressive adoption path for the CYRESRANGE platform, services, community and gamification system through extensive validation and the organization of large scale exercises within and across critical infrastructures, key technologies and application sectors considering the important role of the Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) network and of the Cyber Crisis Liaison Organization Network (CyCLONe)

Objective 4 - To develop an innovative self-assessment engine that will combine personality traits and technical skills, optimized by a state-of-the-art machine learning model developing cybersecurity skills and expertise in key technologies (e.g. 5G, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Control Systems)

Objective 5 - To improve the capability of cyber ranges and their operators to approach advanced types of cyber-attacks, such as the ones done by APTs, through ongoing real attacks simulations built specifically for underserved technologies in the offensive cybersecurity space in various application sectors (e.g. health, energy, finance, transport, telecommunication, agri-food production, resource management) including consideration to cascading effects across sectors

Objective 6 - To define and effectively exploit the business plan, CYRESRANGE’s concepts and tools for market entry, to contribute particular project results to relevant standardization bodies, and to ensure wide communication and scientific dissemination of the CYRESRANGE results to the research, academic, and ICT community, not limited to sectors covered by the NIS Directive

Project description

The proposed CYRESRANGE project addresses concerns and European directives in the field of cyber security, following the fulfillment of synoptic requirements at the EU level expressed through the EU Cyber Strategy presented by The European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to “build resilience to cyber threats and ensure citizens and businesses benefit from trustworthy digital technologies” where “the EU's technological sovereignty needs to be founded on the resilience of all connected services and products.”

The architecture of the project consortium and the participation of a cluster of excellence in cyber security with a wide representation at national and European level (CYSCOE) ensures the fulfillment of a premise of the EU strategy in cyber security: “All the four cybercommunities – those concerned with the internal market, with law enforcement, diplomacy and defense – need to work more closely towards a shared awareness of threats. They should be ready to respond collectively when an attack materializes, so that the EU can be greater than the sum of its parts.”

Our project proposal addresses the first objective to build capacity of cybersecurity actors to react in a coordinated way to large-scale cybersecurity incidents, while fostering the role of CSIRTs, the CyCLONe network and considering the Blueprint. Our project will provide stakeholders a set of structured methodologies, vulnerability databases and forensic tools, and automated content delivery aims and tools.

The project focuses on the creation of new paradigms regarding the creation, interconnecting and strengthening cybersecurity ranges at national and regional level with great capabilities in the European realm, including critical infrastructures, not limited only to sectors covered by the NIS Directive.

In this sense, the project will develop a series of capabilities for the creation, operation, capacity increase and/or uptake of cybersecurity ranges, as well as foster networking between them in view to develop cybersecurity skills and expertise in key technologies (e.g. 5G, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Control Systems) as well as application sectors (e.g. health, energy, finance, transport, telecommunication, agri-food production, resource management) including consideration to cascading effects across sectors.

Main results

• An advanced cyber range platform (CyberEdu Multi-tenant Dashboard) that enables organizations to onboard organizations that want to practice in minutes in their own dedicated tenant
• An advanced wizard that allows professionals (CyberEdu Scenario Builder) to create and personalize training, exams, competitions, recruiting funnels or TTXs without any technical requirements
• A personality self-assessment that will help students or professionals narrow down the job opportunities in the cyber security field based on their profile traits
• A unified language (CyberEdu Unified Language) to develop large-scale exercises and help leverage gamification and simulations to create an engaging and interactive experience for cyber security training and education such as TTX, Adversarial, Traffic or User Simulation, Red vs Blue Team, Blue Team or Purple Team, King of the Hill or Capture the Flag competitions, to provide users with a realistic and immersive learning experience.
• A common repository where CYRESRANGE members can share TTP, threat intelligence, adversarial & user personas
• A Regional Resilience Network combining infrastructure and technology hosted in different regions and a pool of cyber security experts trained and with expertise on the same methodology and processes to provide support on incidents
• A unified API for rapid integration with other cyber ranges or federated cyber ranges networks
• An innovative technology that enables sharing a pool of resources (CyberEdu Range Connector) between cyber ranges in order to provide large-scale network simulation that enables a wide range of adversaries and attack strategies, realistic traffic simulation that reflects network condition
• Developing partnerships with industry leaders and experts to provide access to the latest tools, technologies, and best practices in cyber security. This could include working with companies to provide resources and support for the network of Cyber Security Centers of Excellence, as well as collaborating with leading experts in the field to provide training and educational opportunities for users.
• A marketplace for training, career paths and scenario development (CyberEdu Marketplace) that:
  • Enables content creators to create and be incentivized to develop structured training and cybersecurity exercises
  • Allows students and professionals to select from the existing marketplace training an prepare cybersecurity defenders at both public and private organizations to enhance the protection and resilience of critical infrastructures, enterprises and communications networks
  • Structured training and certification scheme aligned with the national and European standards and other international standards such as MITRE, NICE, OWASP etc. Offering a range of certifications and credentials that align with international standards, such as MITRE, NICE, and OWASP would help to establish the centers as reputable and respected providers of cyber security education and training, and would also help to ensure that users receive the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their careers. Creating a well-defined and structured training and certification scheme aligned with the National and European standards will increase the trust in the training and will help to attract more students and professionals
  • Run pre-built exercises & scenarios within their organization and in cooperation with other organizations