Navy Cyber Defenders Participate in Boss of the Security Operations Center Competition

Courtesy Photo | 190124-N-LT925-005 (SUFFOLK, Va) - Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command (NCDOC) participate in the Boss of the Security Operations Center (SOC) competition hosted by Splunk Inc. on Jan. 24. NCDOC executes defensive cyberspace operations and enables global power projection through proactive network defense. (Photo by Cryptologic Technician (Networks) 1st Class Bryson Wolfe/Released)  

SUFFOLK, VA, UNITED STATES

01.24.2019

Story by REBECCA SIDERS 

U.S. Fleet Cyber Command / U.S. 10th Fleet

SUFFOLK, Va (NNS) – Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command (NCDOC) and Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) participated in Boss of the Security Operations Center competition (BOTS), hosted by Splunk Inc., on January 24.

BOTS is a blue-team jeopardy-style capture-the-flag-esque event where participants use Splunk and open source intelligence resources to answer a variety of questions about security incidents that have occurred in a realistic, but fictitious, enterprise environment. It is designed to emulate realistic security incidents and recreate the experience of an analyst facing an adversary.

Sixteen participants from NCDOC and NETWARCOM competed against 264 participants across the Department of Defense (DoD) in a virtual enterprise environment.

NCDOC had two teams, “Linear Regrets” and “Blueberry Pi”, consisting of Cryptologic Technician (Networks) petty officers and a civilian. NETWARCOM also sent two teams, consisting of Information System Technician petty officers. Of the 69 teams competing, Linear Regrets scored in the top 5.

Capt. Julia Slattery, NCDOC Commanding Officer, lauded the exceptional work of the Navy cyber teams that participated in the event.

“We are very proud of our teams. Their placement in this competition is a testament of the talent and technical expertise of our Navy cyber defenders today,” Slattery said.

During the competition, each team played the role of a security analyst who moves from organization to organization pivoting through realistic event data in Splunk that consists of over 200 datasets, racing the clock to identify the who, where, and how of a full forensic investigation.

Teams were presented with a list of questions of varying difficulty in which points and overall scores are awarded depending on the level of difficulty, incorrect answers, and hints used.

The value of BOTS and similar “Capture the Flag” events, is to allow participants, such as Navy Cyber Defenders, to transfer and apply their enhanced technical and analytical skills from a competitive event to the mission of defending Navy networks.

“For security analysts and incident handlers like us, this competition really helps us develop and test our analytic skills and intelligence gathering techniques as a team in a fun and challenging way,” said Cryptologic Technician (Networks) 2nd Class Aaron Kohler.
U.S. Fleet Cyber Command is responsible for Navy information network operations, offensive and defensive cyberspace operations, space operations and signals intelligence. U.S. 10th Fleet is the operational arm of Fleet Cyber Command and executes its mission through a task force structure similar to other warfare commanders.

For news and information from Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command / U.S. 10th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/FCCC10F/ or follow us on twitter @USFLEETCYBERCOM.

• Date Taken: 01.24.2019
• Date Posted: 02.05.2019 08:20
• Story ID: 309527
• Location: SUFFOLK, VA, US