Training for the Combined Cyber / Kinetic Battlefield
Lloyd Wihl · 2015
Computer-based simulations have long been used to train troops and develop new warfighting techniques. Networked modeling and simulation systems realistically represent combat, from sensors and weapons systems to the tactical behavior of individual entities and military units. However, these traditional training systems assume that computer systems, communication nodes and networks are uncompromised, providing secure and perfect communications between entities in the virtual world. Changes to privacy, integrity, and availability of data due to cyber-attack are rarely if ever taken into consideration. Exercises have made clear the negative effects that result from such simplified modeling. Cyber ranges, typically consisting of racks of hardware running virtual machines to represent an enterprise network, can be used to train network defenders. However, they lack a realistic representation of wireless battlefield networks with their increased vulnerabilities to disruption compared to wired environments. Nor do cyber ranges integrate with kinetic training systems, and they are thus unsuitable for training for the impact of cyber-attacks on classical warfare.