{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-post-js","path":"/blog/living-our-mission-blog-series-3-new-learning-curriculum-in-project-ares-3-6-4/","result":{"data":{"wordpressPost":{"title":"Living our Mission Blog Series #3: New Learning Curriculum in Project Ares 3.6.4","content":"

We’ve made several new updates to our gamified cyber learning platform Project Ares. We are releasing new battle room and mission cyber security exercises for professionals to continue training and honing skills and competency and have optimized some aspects of performance to make the learning experience smoother.

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New Missions and Battle Rooms

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To ensure professionals have access to the latest threats to train against, we develop new missions and battle rooms for our users so they can continually learn new cyber security skills, both technical and professional. The following new missions are available to users of the Professional and Enterprise licenses of Project Ares; while the new battle rooms updates are available to users of the Academy, Professional, and Enterprise licenses of Project Ares.

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Mission 5 – Operation Wounded Bear

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Designed to feature cyber security protection for financial institutions, the learning objectives for this mission are to identify and remove malware responsible for identity theft and protect the network from further infections. Variability in play within the mission includes method of exfiltration, malicious DNS and IP addresses, infected machines, data collection with file share uploads that vary, method of payload and persistence, and a mix of Windows and Linux.

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This mission provides practical application of the following skill sets:

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Mission Objectives:

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  1. Use IDS/IPS to alert on initial malware infection vectors
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  2. Alert/prevent download of malicious executables
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  3. Create alert for infections
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  4. Kill malware processes and remove malware from the initially infected machine
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  5. Kill other instances of malware processes and remove from machines
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  6. Prevent further infection
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Mission 6 – Operation Angry Tiger

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Using threat vectors similar to the Saudi Arabia Aramco and Doha RasGas cyber attacks, this mission is about responding to phishing and exfiltration attacks.  Cyber defenders conduct a risk assessment of a company’s existing network structure and its cyber risk posture for possible phishing attacks. Tasks include reviewing all detectable weaknesses to ensure no malicious activity is occurring on the network currently. Variability in play within the mission includes the method of phishing in email and payload injection, the alert generated, the persistence location and lateral movement specifics, and the malicious DNS and IP addresses.

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Core competencies used in the mission:

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Mission Objectives:

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  1. Verify network monitoring tools are functioning
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  2. Examine current email policies for risk
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  3. Examine domain group/user policies for risk
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  4. Verify indicator of compromise (IOC)
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  5. Find and kill malicious process
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  6. Remove all artifacts of infection
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  7. Stop exfiltration of corporate data
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Mission 13 – Operation Black Dragon

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Defending the power grid is a prevailing concern today and Mission 13 focuses on cyber security techniques for Industry Control Systems and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems (ICS/SCADA).  Players conduct a cyber defense assessment mission on a power distribution plant. The end state of the assessment will be a defensible power grid with local defender ability to detect attempts to compromise the grid as well as the ability to attribute any attacks and respond accordingly.

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Core competencies used in the mission:

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Mission Objectives:

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  1. Evaluate risks to the plant
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  2. Determine if there are any indicators of compromise to the network
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  3. Improve monitoring of network behavior
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  4. Mitigate an attack if necessary
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Battle Room 8 – Network Analysis Using Packet Capture (PCAP)

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Battle Room 8 delivers new exercises to teach network forensic investigation skills via analysis of a PCAP. Analyze the file to answer objectives related to topics such as origins of C2 traffic, identification of credentials in the clear, sensitive document exfiltration, and database activity using a Kali image with multiple network analysis tools installed.

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Core competencies used in the mission:

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Battle Room 10 – Scripting Fundamentals

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Scripting is a critical cyber security operator skillset for any team. Previously announced and now available, Battle Room 10 is the first Project Ares exercise focus on this key skill.  The player conducts a series of regimented tasks using the Python language in order to become more familiar with fundamental programming concepts. This battle room is geared towards players looking to develop basic programming and scripting skills, such as:

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Core competency used in the mission:

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Game client performance optimizations

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We made several adjustments to improve the performance of Project Ares and ensure a smooth player experience throughout the platform.

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These features are part of the Project Ares version 3.6.4 on the Azure cloud which is available now. Similar updates in Project Ares version 3.6.5 for vCenter servers will be available shortly.

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