Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) last year became the first warfare center on the West Coast to be certified as a Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) cybersecurity penetration test team, thanks in part to Naval Innovative Science and Engineering (NISE) funds.
NSWC PHD’s cybersecurity engineering branch had already begun the process of NAVSEA Penetration Test or “Pentest” (NPT) certification prior to the influx of NISE funds, explained Steven Coleman, the command’s NAVSEA Pentest lead.
“NISE provided funding for our team members to take additional training that led to our success in the various cyber certification events,” said Coleman, who also served as principal investigator for the cyber purple team NISE project for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
The project, funded under the NISE workforce development category, received a total of $247,000 over the two fiscal years.
“The core idea was to develop our internal cybersecurity talent in a new way,” said NSWC PHD NISE Program Manager Shala Garcia. “The project proposal specified using the funds for advanced personnel training, developing new cyber testing processes, and seeding a new Incident Response (IR) team to provide data analysis and forensics capabilities. This investment directly contributed to the team’s success in achieving the NAVSEA Pentest certification.”
Cyber penetration tests involve simulating a cyberattack against a ship’s or network’s computer system to identify vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity specialists at the command have conducted such tests for years, said Eric Monette in an earlier story about the NAVSEA certification. Monette is NSWC PHD’s cybersecurity team lead and works closely with the penetration test team.
Certification authorizes NSWC PHD to perform tests in laboratory environments or on simulated systems beyond the portfolio the command’s team now supports.
The new designation applies to the warfare center itself, not just the individuals who participated in the assessment, Coleman said. That means the command’s NPT can now train, test and add new team members and build out the command’s strategic cybersecurity vision.
The team also can now conduct penetration tests for other systems and on behalf of NAVSEA, augmenting NAVSEA’s ability to conduct the tests, he added.
The establishment of the IR team helps to provide data analysis capability to the NPT, in addition to providing the command with IR and forensics capabilities, Coleman said.
While those specific funds have been fully executed, the NISE program is designed to foster capabilities that can be sustained over time, Garcia said, adding that the success of the initial project has led to follow-on efforts.
“For example, a new project was selected for fiscal 2026 to continue building on this expertise,” Garcia said. “This demonstrates the NISE program’s value in not just starting innovative projects, but in growing them to meet evolving command needs.”
Garcia added that the command’s NPT is a “powerful success story that showcases how NISE empowers our workforce to develop innovative solutions that directly benefit the fleet.”