Parsons is hosting a 5-day cyber defense information assurance (IA) exercise run by the National Security Agency (NSA) this week at its cyber center in Columbia, Md., the company said Monday.
This event, called the Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX), is run by the NSA’s Information Assurance Capabilities organization and is designed to help train military participants in secure network operations. Parsons also said the NSA is conducting this as part of its commitment to raising awareness among future military leaders about AI challenges and net-centric vulnerabilities.
At CDX over 100 participants from various U.S. military institutions come together for a realistic team-oriented cyber event. Network specialists usually tasked with securing the government’s most sensitive communication systems challenge teams from military institutions in their ability to defend computer networks that the participants have designed, built, and configured at their respective locations.
The whole CDX is conducted on a virtual private network that provides a safe platform for the exercise while preventing real-world networks from interfering. A separate group of specialists will then grade each team’s ability to effectively maintain network services while also detecting, responding to, and recovering from network security intrusions or compromises.
Parsons highlighted it is hosting the CDX for the fourth year in a row and is providing technical support for the CDX preparation and execution.
“As cyber attacks become increasingly more complex, these competitions provide the next generation of cyber professionals with vital training. Parsons is proud to lend our expertise to this important mission, and we’re again excited to host NSA’s annual Cyber Defense Exercise,” Carey Smith, president of the Parsons Group, said in a statement.
The winning team will be announced on April 14.