Critical Roles of Information, Analysis, Research, and Operations in the Cyber Realm

Abstract:

PNNL developed an Adaptive Cyber Integration Framework (ACIF) in a pilot program to facilitate the timely sharing of cyber threat information along with the advancement of situational awareness tools to enhance protection against and respond to critical infrastructure cybersecurity threats. ACIF comprises components implemented iteratively to achieve research and mission goals. The ACIF components include data-generation technologies, analytic-tools development and maturation, data enrichment and fusion, trust building with stakeholders, investigative research, analytic rigor, production, and dissemination. Each component, its importance to the ACIF, and how each can be adopted and applied across other information-sharing sectors and domains are discussed as a case study in this paper.


AUTHORS

Photo of Adam Grant

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, Washington, United States

Adam Grant is a cyber security analyst at PNNL. His work focuses on threat intelligence and computer network defense related to critical infrastructure. Mr. Grant holds a bachelor’s degree in cyber security from the University of Maryland University College and possesses a background in counterintelligence and human intelligence. Mr. Grant’s current efforts support a public-private cooperative program encompassing major stakeholders and owners of energy sector critical infrastructure.

Photo of Ashley L. Billman

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, Washington, United States

Ashley L. Billman is a Cyber Security Analyst at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where she works in cyber intelligence information sharing. She supports successful public-private partnerships in critical infrastructure security where she briefs clients on threat intelligence, produces actionable intelligence products, and contributes to wide area situational awareness analytic development. Ms. Billman holds an MS in Cybersecurity with a specialization in Intelligence from Utica College and a BA in English Literature from Seattle University.

Photo of Trevor H. Cell

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, Washington, United States

Trevor H. Cell is a Cyber Security Analyst at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and specializes in cyber threat intelligence. Mr. Cell’s work supports information sharing of actional intelligence and emerging threats to critical infrastructure partners and the broader cyber intelligence community.  Mr. Cell graduated from the University of Texas in 2014 with a B.S. in Chemistry and from the University of Washington in 2016 with a M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering. Prior to this, Mr. Cell served in the Navy for 6 years and continues to serve in the Washington Army National Guard as a Russian Cryptologic Linguist.

Photo of Brandon J. Meador

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, Washington, United States

Brandon J. Meador is a Cyber Security Analyst at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory where he works as the operational lead for the Cyber Risk Information Sharing Program. He supports successful public-private partnerships in critical infrastructure security where he helps with day to day operations for briefings to clients on threat intelligence and the production of actionable intelligence products. Mr. Meador has been with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for over 19 years as a Network Engineer and an Enterprise Systems Engineer before making a move into Cyber Analysis in 2017.

Photo of Todd Halter

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, Washington, United States

Todd Halter has over 33 years of experience in the fields of Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry and has been with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory since 1997. Mr. Halter received his MS in Computer Science from Washington State University and his B.S. in Physics from Eastern Oregon University. Mr. Halter has served as a group manager, technical team lead, project manager, cyber security analyst, data scientist, system architect, and developer with experience in all aspects of project management (budget, schedule, resource, and risk analysis), architecture and system design, coding, testing, installation, and maintenance. Mr. Halter has spent the last 13 years immersed in network data and cyber analytics.

Photo of Stacey Hartley-McBride

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, Washington, United States

Stacey Hartley-McBride has been with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for over 26 years as a technical lead and contributor in cyber, statistical, and mathematical analyses, specifically focusing on cyber analysis capabilities, workflows, and processes over the last 14 years. She earned an MSc in Statistics and a BSc in Statistics from the University of Florida. Ms. Hartley-McBride was part of the ground floor development of a highly successful cyber information program, serving as an analyst while also briefing potential clients around the country to help grow the program. Ms. Hartley-McBride has exhibited leadership skills as the Group Leader of the Operations & Analysis group in the Computing and Analytics division. Ms. Hartley-McBride has technically led and managed several projects, which include performing cyber threat assessments for critical infrastructure sectors, devising methodologies to incorporate cyber information and analysis with other diverse subject areas, and safeguarding critical infrastructure regarding cyber and physical security.

Photo of Bryce Kaspar

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, Washington, United States

Bryce Kaspar is a Lead Cyber Security Analyst at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) where he works in cyber intelligence information sharing. He leads a team of cyber analyst that support programs that provide private sector partners in critical infrastructure with threat intelligence products, briefings on intelligence products, and contribute to wide area situational awareness analytic development. Mr. Kaspar has been with PNNL for 20 years in a wide variety of systems administration, software development, and cyber security related projects across a wide breadth of computing environments. He has earned a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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Keywords

A

AI
APT

C

C2
C2S
CDX
CIA
CIP
CPS

D

DNS
DoD
DoS

I

IA
ICS

M

S

SOA

X

XRY

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