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Cyber Ranges, Testbeds and Digital Twins

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2022) | Viewed by 8082

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Computer Science and Informatics, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK
Interests: cyber security; privacy preservation; risk management; routing protocols; vehicular networks; social network analysis; power electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Informatics & Computer Engineering, University of West Attica, Egaleo, 122 43 Athens, Greece
Interests: IT security; cybersecurity; intrusion detection in information and communication systems; attacker profiling; attack modeling; game theory
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, cyber-attacks—especially those targeting systems that keep or process sensitive information—are becoming more sophisticated. Critical National Infrastructures are the main targets of cyber-attacks since essential information or services depend on their systems and their protection becomes a significant issue that is concerning both organizations and nations. Attacks to such critical systems include penetrations to their network and the installation of malicious tools or programs that can reveal sensitive data or alter the behavior of specific physical equipment.

Training activities and environments that can support challenging situations, followed by concrete guidance, procedures, and tools, are needed. These platforms can help individuals to react collectively and collaboratively in different, unpredictable situations. This environment should blend simulations and emulations of real components and systems, embed different attack and defense mechanisms, and must be able to adapt to a variety of different incidents in order to be cost-effective and attractive for organizations and educational institutes. Experiential learning is an educational technique that proposes the active involvement of the participants in order to help them learn through experience. Cyber ranges are an efficient method for delivering experiential learning exercises as part of serious games. Cyber ranges are exercising environments that contain both physical and virtual components and can be used to represent realistic scenarios for training.

Prospective authors are encouraged to submit previously unpublished contributions from a broad range of topics, which include but are not limited to the following:

  • Cyber range integration and federation;
  • Emulation and simulation techniques (exercises, architecture, etc.);
  • Hybrid system integration;
  • Emerging technologies in cyber ranges;
  • Econometric models in cyber security training;
  • Digital twins;
  • Capture the flag platforms;
  • Risk assessment frameworks for training;
  • Trainee evaluation and situational awareness;
  • Learning methods in cyber security training certifications;
  • Serious gaming and visualization;
  • Cyber-exercises and strategic decision making;
  • Agile development of cyber ranges.

In this Special Issue, we are interested in both academic and practical aspects of cyber security considerations in their development and use in professional cyber security training, as well as in exploring the use of emerging technologies. Aligned with the interdisciplinary nature of cyber security, authors from academia, government, and industry are welcome to contribute.

Dr. Leandros Maglaras
Dr. Ioanna Kantzavelou
Dr. Mohamed Amine Ferrag
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cyber range integration and federation
  • emulation and simulation techniques (exercises, architecture, etc.)
  • hybrid system integration
  • emerging technologies in cyber ranges
  • econometric models in cyber security training
  • digital twins
  • capture the flag platforms
  • risk assessment frameworks for training
  • trainee evaluation and situational awareness
  • learning methods in cyber security training certifications
  • serious gaming and visualization
  • cyber-exercises and strategic decision making
  • agile development of cyber ranges

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4787 KiB  
Article
A Study on Cyber Target Importance Quantification and Ranking Algorithm
by Kookjin Kim, Seunghwan Oh, Donghwan Lee, Jiwon Kang, Jungsik Lee and Dongkyoo Shin
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 1833; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12041833 - 10 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2953
Abstract
Most of the challenges and conflicts facing countries and groups today involve cyberspace. Therefore, military forces around the world are developing methods (doctrines) and weapon systems to conduct cyberspace operations in order to dominate cyberspace. To conduct cyberspace operations, cyber target information must [...] Read more.
Most of the challenges and conflicts facing countries and groups today involve cyberspace. Therefore, military forces around the world are developing methods (doctrines) and weapon systems to conduct cyberspace operations in order to dominate cyberspace. To conduct cyberspace operations, cyber target information must be collected in cyberspace, and cyber targets must be selected to achieve effective operational objectives. In this study, we develop a target importance rank (TIR) algorithm based on the PageRank algorithm that quantitatively calculates the importance of each target in cyberspace for cyber target selection. The proposed algorithm was developed to quantify the degree of connectivity, criticality, and exposure of computer network hosts, and to create a list of target importance priorities based on the quantified values. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyber Ranges, Testbeds and Digital Twins)
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23 pages, 12548 KiB  
Article
Down the Rabbit Hole: Fostering Active Learning through Guided Exploration of a SCADA Cyber Range
by Tiago Cruz and Paulo Simões
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(20), 9509; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11209509 - 13 Oct 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3643
Abstract
Prior experience from the authors has shown that a heavily theoretical approach for cybersecurity training has multiple shortcomings, mostly due to the demanding and diversified nature of the prerequisites, often involving concepts about operating system design, networking and computer architecture, among others. In [...] Read more.
Prior experience from the authors has shown that a heavily theoretical approach for cybersecurity training has multiple shortcomings, mostly due to the demanding and diversified nature of the prerequisites, often involving concepts about operating system design, networking and computer architecture, among others. In such circumstances, the quest for trainee engagement often turns into a delicate balancing act between managing their expectations and providing an adequate progression path. In this perspective, hands-on exercises and contact with high-fidelity environments play a vital part in fostering interest and promoting a rewarding learning experience. Making this possible requires having the ability to design and deploy different use case training scenarios in a flexible way, tailored to the specific needs of classroom-based, blended or e-learning teaching models. This paper presents a flexible framework for the creation of laboratory and cyber range environments for training purposes, detailing the development, implementation and exploration of a cyber range scenario, within the scope of a course on cyber-physical systems security. Moreover, the course structure, curricular aspects and teaching methods are also detailed, as well as the feedback obtained from the students. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyber Ranges, Testbeds and Digital Twins)
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