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Air Force conducts
network-defense exercise
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LACKLAND
AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Christopher Lupo verifies
the configuration of the tactics development facility
during Black Demon, a two-week exercise focused on
Air Force network defense. Mr. Lupo is an Air Force
Information Warfare Center contractor here. (U.S.
Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Robert J. Krause)
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by Masao Doi
Air Intelligence Agency Public Affairs
4/1/2004 - LACKLAND AIR
FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Air
Force officials finished a two-week computer network-defense exercise
March 26, which validated and strengthened the Air Force's ability
to defend its network against a wide range of attacks.
About 200 people at network operations security centers and associated
network control centers Air Force-wide experienced and overcame various
tactical situations as part of Black Demon, the largest exercise
of its kind within the Department of Defense.
These situations included testing operations against network attack,
reconnaissance, denial of service, loss of network-defense tools,
insider threats, malicious logic and loss of firewall.
Training was the primary objective of Black Demon, said Brig. Gen.
Gregory H. Power, 8th Air Force vice commander and leader of the
exercise.
"I think that's the overarching goal . to train our crews in these network operations
and security centers to understand the threats that are out there to the Air
Force network and the network in general," he said.
The exercise exposed participants to realistic scenarios simulating
network attacks to improve their ability to discern and respond to
real attacks.
Air Force Information Warfare Center workers here teamed up with
about 450 professionals for the exercise. They included people from
the Air Intelligence Agency, Air Force Communication Agency, the
Air Staff, all nine Air Force major commands and the Air National
Guard.
Team members planned the exercise and developed mission scenarios
providing realistic training opportunities for exercise participants.
The exercise control center at the 23rd Information Operations Squadron
served as the hub of the two-week event. Team members provided centralized
command and control, evaluation, dedicated data collection and oversight
of aggressor-force activities for 22 locations at 14 Air Force installations
worldwide.
A range network was designed to simulate the operational Air Force
network. Conducting an exercise on the range network allowed people
to practice responding to cyber attacks without disrupting the operational
Air Force network.
"By using the range, we segregate play from the operational environment, reducing
the risk of spillage. The use of the Virtual Private Network does not allow any
of the aggressive actions to bleed over into normal day-to-day ops," said Chief
Master Sgt. Stephanie D. Harwell, AFCA network strategies and tactics superintendent.
This year's exercise represented an improvement over the previous
one conducted two years ago all major commands participated, said
Lt. Col. John Bansemer, 23rd Information Operations Squadron commander.
"The Air Force will continue to improve its defenses," Colonel Bansemer said. "We
recognize that just as there are new types of attacks that hit our systems, we
have to be able to respond to those."
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