CSIAC JOURNAL

Step into the future with the latest advancements and trends in cybersecurity. 

We blend research with subject matter expertise to provide an outlet for publicly releasable articles on new and emerging science, engineering, and technology within the cybersecurity community.

Latest Articles

A Relevance Model for Threat-Centric Ranking of Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities

The relentless process of tracking and remediating vulnerabilities is a top concern for cybersecurity professionals. The key challenge is trying to identify a remediation scheme specific to in-house, organizational objectives. Without a strategy, the result is a patchwork of fixes applied to a tide of vulnerabilities, any one of which could be the point of failure in an otherwise formidable defense. Given that few vulnerabilities are a focus of real-world attacks, a practical remediation strategy is to identify vulnerabilities likely to be exploited and focus efforts toward remediating those vulnerabilities first.

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Transforming Military Leadership and Organizational Health With Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) fuels not only the technological advancements in our businesses and homes but also redefines the operational frameworks of governments, military, and the broader societal constructs. The essence of this transformative power, however, finds its most compelling narrative in leadership and organizational health, where machine learning (ML), a subset of AI, plays a pivotal role. AI/ML can be used to support leaders in their efforts to manage and monitor initiatives and drive decisions. ML algorithms using continuous data collection activities can assist and support organization’s leaders through understanding if implemented initiatives are impacting operations by improving staff cross-collaboration and productivity while improving product and service innovation. Using predictive analytics to analyze trending data to predict future outcomes, leaders can determine if staying the course or pivoting in a certain direction is needed.

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Development, Test, and Evaluation of Small-Scale Artificial Intelligence Models

As data becomes more commoditized across all echelons of the U.S. Department of Defense, developing artificial intelligence/machine-learning (AI/ML) solutions allows for advanced data analysis and processing. However, these solutions require intimate knowledge of the relevant data as well as robust test and evaluation (T&E) procedures to ensure performance and trustworthiness. This article presents a case study and recommendations for developing and evaluating small-scale AI solutions. The model automates an acoustic event location system.

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Artificial Intelligence as a Force Multiplier in U.S. Military Information Campaigns

Military commanders have used information throughout warfare to influence, mislead, disrupt, or otherwise affect the enemy’s decision-making and capabilities. This article discusses the history of information operations (IOs) and enduring importance of incorporating actions in the information environment in military strategy.

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Note From the Editor-in-Chief

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) represent an increasingly exciting field of computer science. A term originally coined by John McCarthy in 1956,1 AI is becoming increasingly pervasive in today’s world.

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Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity: How Substituting and Scaling Impact Investment Returns

With the growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in cybersecurity, this article investigates the economic principles of substitution and scale’s elasticity to evaluate their impact on the return on security investment. Recognizing the potential of AI technologies to substitute human labor and traditional cybersecurity mechanisms and the significance of cost ramifications of scaling AI solutions within cybersecurity frameworks, the study theoretically contributes to understanding the financial and operational dynamics of AI in cybersecurity. It provides valuable insights for cybersecurity practitioners in public and private sectors. Through this analysis, ways in which AI technologies can redefine economic outcomes in cybersecurity efforts are highlighted. Strategic recommendations are also offered for practitioners to optimize the economic efficiency and effectiveness of AI in cybersecurity, emphasizing a dynamic, nuanced approach to AI investment and deployment.

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Optimization and Analysis for Defense Simulation Models

When performing defense system analysis with simulation models, a great deal of time and effort is expended creating representations of real-world scenarios in U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) simulation tools. However, once these models have been created and validated, analysts rarely retrieve all the knowledge and insights that the models may yield and are limited to simple explorations because they do not have the time and training to perform more complex analyses manually. Additionally, they do not have software integrated with their simulation tools to automate these analyses and retrieve all the knowledge and insights available from their models.

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Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in the Cyber Domain With Sim2real Techniques

In the digital age, the cyber domain has become an intricate network of systems and interactions that underpin modern society. Sim2Real techniques, originally developed with notable success in domains such as robotics and autonomous driving, have gained recognition for their remarkable ability to bridge the gap between simulated environments and real-world applications. While their primary applications have thrived in these domains, their potential implications and applications within the broader cyber domain remain relatively unexplored. This article examines the emerging intersection of Sim2Real techniques and the cyber realm, exploring their challenges, potential applications, and significance in enhancing our understanding of this complex landscape.

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Low-Power Cybersecurity Attack Detection Using Deep Learning on Neuromorphic Technologies

Neuromorphic computing systems are desirable for several applications because they achieve similar accuracy to graphic processing unit (GPU)-based systems while consuming a fraction of the size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C). Because of this, the feasibility of developing a real-time cybersecurity system for high-performance computing (HPC) environments using full precision/GPU and reduced precision/neuromorphic technologies was previously investigated. This work was the first to compare the performance of full precision and neuromorphic computing on the same data and neural network and Intel and BrainChip neuromorphic offerings. Results were promising, with up to 93.7% accuracy in multiclass classification—eight attack types and one benign class.

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Extreme Zero Trust

Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) has become a mainstream information security philosophy. Many commercial enterprises are in varying stages of their journeys in adopting and implementing ZTA. Similarly, federal policy has moved toward ZTA, motivated by actions such as Executive Order 14028 and guided by NIST 800-207 and CISA’s Zero Trust Maturity.

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