CYDEST—CYber DEfenSe Trainer

ATC-NY's CYber DEfenSe Trainer (CYDEST) provides immersive, tactical-level exercises in computer network defense and forensics. Its security-oriented training scenarios are geared for "in the trenches" personnel such as network administrators, incident first responders, and digital forensics investigators. Exercises are run in real time within a virtualized environment using real systems, real attacks, and real defensive tools. CYDEST's training scenarios are complemented by pedagogical training materials are integrated into the system.

CYDEST provides flexible training options to students while greatly reducing instructor workload. The system is available 24/7/365 from any location; students may access the system over the Internet using only a Java-enabled web browser. It is unnecessary for instructors to monitor training sessions. Instead, the system automatically evaluates trainee performance, providing instructors with audit records of exercise runs. The auto-assessment capability also enables dynamic attack scenarios that adapt to trainee's defensive actions.

CYDEST's unique combination of capabilities represents a significant advance over current training technologies. It is suited to a range of applications in the commercial, military, government, and academic sectors.