Visual Analytics for Cybersecurity Education and Training

Cyber security, cyber range, exercise, training, analysis, visual analytics, visualization.

The increasing number of security threats leads to a growing need to develop new methods for their mitigation. Simultaneously, it is necessary to train more and more experts who would recognize these threats in time. However, comprehension and practical training of cyber-defense processes is challenging. It is not possible to utilize production infrastructures as these activities would endanger them. Instead, it is necessary to use isolated environments emulating real critical infrastructures. Progress in the development of suitable environments occurred only recently and is associated with the expansion and maturity of cloud technologies. However, the availability of suitable cybersecurity platforms is only one piece of the puzzle. A deeper understanding of cybersecurity processes requires employing efficient data analysis methods capable of providing insight into relationships hidden in the data. In our research, we deal with both interconnected areas. We aim to develop a suitable environment, where security experiments and practical training can be conducted, and relevant data can be systematically gathered. Simultaneously, we strive to use the data for threats understanding and training mitigation procedures. We use the exploratory, visual-based approaches to the data analysis.