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Cyber Resilience at the Speed of Change

In the U.S. Air Force, cyber threats evolve by the hour. To keep systems resilient, practices and training must move just as fast. CyberSTEPS equips software engineers and solution architects to learn and apply the latest, proven techniques when designing new systems.

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When Cyber Threats Aren’t Static

Creating Air Force systems that can withstand modern attacks is uniquely challenging: the environment is dynamic, the threat surface is broad, and “best practice” changes constantly. The Air Force needed a way to help engineers and architects learn, share, and adopt evolving cyber-resilience methods without waiting for the next course release—so resilient design becomes business as usual.

The Ask

Design a dynamic learning-and-doing system that:

  • Keeps guidance current as the cyber landscape shifts.
    Embeds role-specific support into daily work (not just in classrooms).
  • Builds a shared mental model for cyber resiliency across teams and roles.
  • Scales through clear taxonomy, governance, and an always-updating knowledge base.

The Approach

  • Build an agile learning system, not a static course. We created CyberSTEPS as an intelligent complex-skills training system (CSTS) integrated with an electronic performance support system (EPSS)—a continuously maintained body of knowledge that captures the most up-to-date techniques from the cyber defense community.
  • Organize for findability and ownership. We defined a taxonomy of cyber-resiliency domain knowledge, processes, and roles to structure content; and a governance model so the EPSS stays current and accountable.
  • Make it role-based and real. Role-specific learning paths focus on authentic problems in simulated practice environments, emphasizing competencies like pattern recognition and threat modeling so teams cultivate a true “hacker mindset.”
  • Activate learning agility. Together, the EPSS and complex-skills training create an organizational capability to learn, share, and apply new information as it emerges—so guidance never goes stale and teams move in sync.

The Outcome

  • Always-current guidance. A dynamic knowledge base ensures training and design support don’t become outdated in a rapidly evolving field.
  • Consistent, role-aligned execution. Teams apply a shared mental model of cyber resiliency tailored to specific roles and missions.
  • Peer problem-solving. The user forum accelerated how quickly engineers find, apply, and share solutions.
  • Scalable beyond cyber. The model generalizes to any domain that requires training complex skills against a fast-changing body of knowledge.

 

Proposal Title:
SynChat: Synthetic Language Interface

Agency:
United States Air Force

Contract Numbers:
FA8650-13-M-6443, FA8650-14-C-6576

Start Date: 
2014

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