SCIENCE

PNNL researchers are developing a tool to remotely train system administrators to prepare for and protect against cyber attacks. Just as flight simulators provide real-world experience to pilots without jeopardizing lives, a new cyber security training capability under development at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will give computer system administrators experience defending against cyber attacks without compromising their networks. PNNL scientists have created a prototype Systems Administrator Simulation Trainer, or SAST, to rapidly develop the cyber security experience of system administrators in any type of organization to identify, circumvent or recover from hacker activity. The program consists of a network of training tools that simulate the cyber environment and are launched through an automated system. When fully developed, students with broadband Internet access would use these tools remotely, reducing training costs and allowing continual access. SAST was developed for the Department of Defense's Technical Support Working Group, or TSWG, at the PNNL-based Critical Infrastructure Protection and Analysis Laboratory, a dedicated cyber research and development laboratory created specifically to counter cyber threats. TSWG's mission is to conduct the national interagency research and development program for combating terrorism through rapid research, development and prototyping. Additional PNNL information is available at www.pnl.gov/news/notes/summer01.htm