In the age of ever-evolving technology, cyber criminals are constantly looking for new strategies to infiltrate and exploit agency technology infrastructures. Agencies are constantly facing new and emerging threats. A report done in 2019 by Threat Horizon revealed that agencies will be tasked with facing future cyber threats under three key themes: disruption, distortion and deterioration.

Cyber criminals hedge their bets on agencies being unable to adequately safeguard against these threats. With this in mind, the ultimate goal of cybersecurity professionals should be to prepare ahead of these threats, so they are equipped to deal with them when--not if-- they happen. However, advanced preparation has presented a challenge for many federal agencies. Because these cyber effects can be destructive and can cause irreversible damage to agency systems, realistic cybersecurity testing, training, and exercises cannot be performed on live production networks. Yet at the same time, most agencies are unable to have an economically feasible non-production environment.

Far from being static constructs, production networks are active platforms that are constantly stimulated by their user applications and systems. Agencies typically do not include a budget for full-scale, non-production replicas of their networks. These active networks are unable to be readily destroyed and then recreated. Overall, in order to perform these tests and cybersecurity scenarios, agencies would have to have an alternate system aside from their current active platforms. Replica systems would require time and additional resources, not often allocated in current budgets or timelines. In addition, there’s the risk of creating permanent damage, and of active systems being unavailable to employees due to testing and training.

Although the challenges are many, all hope is not lost for federal agencies looking to shore up their cybersecurity testing and training exercises. ManTech Advanced Systems International Inc; a NITAAC CIO-SP3 contract holder, recently developed a platform called ACRE®.  

ACRE® is a unique physical and virtualized cyber range that brings best-in-class cyber defense expertise to a new generation of professionals. This platform consists of real-world systems and network infrastructures. It includes not only traditional IT assets, but also Operational Technology, ICS/SCADA systems, medical systems and more.

These networks have the ability to be replicated and simulated on ACRE®. These simulations can include realistic network traffic, virtual user behavior, physics-based modeling (for moving cyber assets), unconstrained malware and other destructive techniques. This environment can then be used to support digital engineering, risk reduction analysis, insider threat modeling, information assurance, cyber testing activities, technology injection and hands-on cyber training and exercises.

With ManTech’s ACRE® platform, agencies no longer have to worry about doing permanent damage to their active networks while testing updates and performing cybersecurity scenarios to train their employees. The ACRE® platform is fully customizable and can be adapted to many different agency networks. ACRE® can undertake vast amounts of virtual environment scenarios. This solution was built to be scaled and tailored for each customers’ unique requirements.

“Each client comes in with a specific hard problem, and we leverage our capabilities to design tailored solutions to meet that need.” ManTech stated. “Our customers use ACRE® to support a myriad of non-production use cases, including digital engineering, testing, training and exercise.” ManTech states further, “We support incident response and cyber hunt exercises, globally distributed cyber range-enhanced training, threat analysis to space-based orbital systems, mission modeling for vehicle and weapons platforms, technology experimentation, testing and injection, and more.”

This ACRE® platform has helped support on-demand training for entire cyber schools, cut engineering processes from weeks to minutes, as well as conclusively demonstrated the efficacy of engineered solutions for mission environments. ACRE emphasizes the importance of realistic cyber training in a safe, contained, environment. Training is different when you are able to have a hands-on experience and understand how it can truly affect a system.

Further, ManTech has recently adapted the ACRE platform to the unique threats and vulnerabilities in the space domain with the ManTech Space Range. Built upon the success of ACRE®, ManTech’s innovative and fully operational cyber range, Space Range expands ManTech’s robust, scalable and hyper-realistic range to encompass the unique requirements of a cyber infrastructure supporting a space enterprise.

ManTech’s ACRE® range and highly trained team of space and cyber professionals use their knowledge of offense-informed cyber defense as an integral part of how they replicate any space, ground and network environment at any classification level to tackle today’s toughest cyber threats.

ManTech’s Space Range provides “the right stuff” for customers to train to defend America’s vital space enterprise from the ground up. Most importantly, ManTech’s Space Range provides leaders with the confidence that critical space communications, navigation and intelligence gathering capabilities will be available and reliable when needed most.

If you would like to learn more about the myriad solutions offered by NITAAC contract holders like ManTech, simply call our Customer Support Center at 1-800-733-6542 or email NITAACsupport@nih.gov and we’ll get you connected. You can also use our Electronic Government Ordering System (e-GOS) for research or to put through a Request for Information (RFI) about ACRE®.