Evolvable Microgame for Information Assurance Training (EMIAT)

Better Information Assurance (IA) training methods can significantly improve the security of the DoD’s network-centric environment. Existing IA training employs ineffective “tell-and-test” instructional methods, which do not adequately engage students and, more importantly, fail to address the evolving nature of new IA threats. To address the need for better and more adaptive training, we designed a framework—under a Phase I effort—for the development and deployment of Evolvable Microgames for Information Assurance Training (EMIAT). Based on our successful Phase I, we propose a full-scope development effort focused on four components. To ensure that learning objectives comprehensively address emerging IA threats, we will develop an ontology-based curriculum that supports evolvability (i.e., is user-extensible by USAF trainers and IA experts). This evolvable curriculum will be integrated with an intuitive framework for rapidly authoring new microgames. The framework will include graphical development tools for constructing microgame interfaces and logic and templates for rapidly building microgames to address emerging threats. We will iteratively employ this framework to construct and evaluate educational microgames, producing tools for improving IA training while enhancing the framework’s viability. Finally, we will build a web-based distribution environment for deploying microgames and providing a motivating social community for microgame-based training. BENEFIT: The IA training microgames developed in this effort will provide an immediate and tangible benefit to warfighters throughout the DoD by educating them in the IA skills they need to “fight through” in a contested cyber environment, providing them with the means of defending themselves, and creating another layer of security beyond that currently provided by the AFNOC and sister organizations throughout the DoD. Additionally, the EMIAT framework will provide the tools needed to adapt IA training to emerging IA threats, thereby enhancing the capability to address these threats before they become significant security leaks. These benefits could be extended to a wide range of Government and commercial domains that rely on networked computing, including many daily business activities. This broader application of EMIAT is possible because the generic EMIAT framework provides intuitive tools for rapidly authoring and delivering engaging and educational evolvable microgames for corporate education, training, and proficiency maintenance.