Northrop Grumman to Develop UK Cyber Security Test Range for Evaluation of Threats on Large Scale Networks

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a principal member of the BT team selected by the UK Technology Strategy Board to develop a cyber test range for the research and testing of cyber security threats on large scale networks.

The cyber test range will be developed by Northrop Grumman UK under the SATURN (Self-organising Adaptive Technology under Resilient Networks) network defence research programme, a collaborative research project focused on information infrastructure. The programme will deliver tools and techniques to protect against the vulnerabilities of complex networks and information systems.

"Cyber security has become a fundamental necessity as we rely increasingly on networks of complex integrated information systems to access information and services in our homes and businesses," said Sir Nigel Essenhigh, chairman, Northrop Grumman UK. "Northrop Grumman is at the forefront of the challenge to find innovative solutions that can effectively defend such networks and offer protection across the entire cyber domain."

The range will be located at Northrop Grumman's facility in Fareham and will provide the UK with the environment and capability to conduct meaningful cyber experiments and assessments of infrastructure survivability and assurance, and to test and analyse new concepts and technologies to protect against modern cyber threats. 

"Northrop Grumman is an industry leader in all aspects of computer network operations and cyber security, and we have considerable capabilities and experience to bring to this programme," said Paul Davison, vice president and managing director for Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector in Europe. "The programme will develop new ways to analyse complex information systems and protect users by predicting where and how vulnerabilities will occur. We look forward to contributing to its success."

The SATURN programme will demonstrate how self-managing, intelligent services can enable the rapid discovery and fusion of critical network data flows in real-time. The programme will also develop novel tools and techniques for visualising and understanding the complex interdependencies between the service layer and underlying physical networks. In addition, it will enhance the theory of complex networks in the Critical National Infrastructure domain, creating new modelling and simulation capabilities targeted specifically at protecting current and future infrastructures.

The competition for funding the programme was organised by the UK Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Other members of the BT-led team include Oxford University (Said Business School), Warwick University (School of Engineering) and Imperial College (Electrical and Electronic Engineering).

The range will be an extension of Northrop Grumman's Cyberspace Solutions Centre (CSSC) located in the US at Millersville, Md., which is dedicated both to independent research and development on cyber security projects as well as to carrying out customer contracts. 

The heart of the CSSC is Northrop Grumman's cyber test range and internet research laboratory. Since 1999 the company has operated an advanced set of capabilities for the development, integration, and demonstration of revolutionary cyber security technologies.  The cyber test range is a robust internet environment for emulating, attacking and evaluating information technology, network operations and cyber security defence.

In addition to the CSSC, the company recently opened in the US a new, state-of-the-art Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC), a comprehensive cyber threat detection and response centre that focuses on protecting Northrop Grumman and its customers' networks and data worldwide.