Aries Security Bringing Hacker Expertise to the Pentagon

This month, Aries Security founder Brian Markus announced that the company plans to bring its critically acclaimed Capture The Packet (CTP) simulator and skills assessment suite to Washington via a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense. A move to improve cybersecurity training for the nation’s most secure networks, this collaboration will train defenders to be more technically capable in defending against a wide variety of complex real world attacks. With unlimited customization options, scalability, and cutting-edge assessment technology, CTP will revolutionize the training and vetting of cybersecurity professionals.

Aries Security is best known for creating the Wall of Sheep, famously featured at DEF CON and BlackHat, pioneering awareness of Juice Jacking, and is well known throughout the world of network security. Lauded throughout the hacker community as the most sophisticated cyber simulator on the market, CTP has been recognized at conferences like DEF CON, DEF CON Kids, Cisco, Hacker Halted, and RSA NetWitness and Security Analytics conferences.

Aries Security created CTP to train and realistically assess candidate and employee skillsets via emulated hacker activity. Regarding the collaboration with the Department of Defense, Markus said, “This program is intended to combat the problem of ‘paper tigers’ —candidates who look good on paper in terms of degrees and certifications, but have little technical expertise— getting placed in critical positions where they fail to deliver. They represent a real, expensive danger to companies. It’s an issue we’ve been researching for over 15 years, and we are excited to be able to offer solutions to the Pentagon.”
As a training simulator, CTP mimics live bleeding-edge malware, network devices, and traffic in order train individuals and teams against formidable real-time infiltrations. The system is fully customizable to meet industry- and business-specific targets for network offense and defense. CTP distinguishes itself from other technologies in this space with its small and portable stature.

The Force Training Directorate in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness believes that CTP can serve as an effective tool to help modernize the Department’s approach to cybersecurity training. The Director of Force Training said that CTP provides a realistic training environment for individuals and teams, and that its speed and flexibility will help the Department train cyber operators at all levels in ways that the Department could not before. Converting and incorporating an off-the-shelf product will also allow the Department to leverage cutting-edge technology in a cost-effective manner.