A silent hunt

Photo By Chief Master Sgt. Renae Pittman | Capt. Justin Valentine (right), 100th Communication Squadron flight commander for defensive cyber operations, Tech Sgt. Michael Markus (left), 48th CS client systems technician, and Airman 1st Class Brian Stahl (center), 422nd CS noncommissioned officer in charge of cyber operations, investigate and configure firewall rules for a training scenario as part of exercise TACET VENARI, held at the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Regional Training Center, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Mar. 8, 2019. The exercise focused on training mission defense teams the tactics, techniques and procedures necessary to defend the command’s mission relevant terrain and weapon systems. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Renae Pittman)  

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, GERMANY

03.11.2019

Story by Master Sgt. Renae Pittman 

U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa   

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY – U.S. Air Force Airmen from across the region recently concluded TACET VENARI 19-1, a two-week cyber exercise focused on defensive cyber operations at the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Regional Training Center.

This now quarterly exercise is designed to train operationally focused Airmen to provide mission assurance to the warfighters by learning the skills needed to deliver defensive cyber operations.

“TACET VENARI is Latin for silent hunt, and accurately describes the mission defense team’s purpose to silently hunt for, identify and prevent potential adversary activity that could harm our networks,” said Capt. Kevin Taylor, lead DCO integration manager assigned to the communications directorate at U.S. Air Forces in Europe Air Forces Africa.

Mission defense teams, comprised of five or six Airmen, are being established throughout the command to provide a first line of defense for USAFE-AFAFRICA’s operational assets against cyber threats and to protect the command’s mission relevant terrain and weapon systems.

The TACET VENARI exercise series is designed to provide a realistic cyber threat scenario for the MDTs to think through and learn how to counter threats at the tactical level, using the same skills needed for real-world defense operations.

“The MDTs are being trained to actively monitor, identify and neutralize threats in order to protect networks from anyone degrading critical capabilities. This helps our Airmen at the wings provide another level of mission assurance to their commanders,” added Taylor.

USAFE-AFAFRICA is the first major command to fill a critical gap by providing DCO training in a realistic, hands-on cyber range. The training allows MDTs to increase their capability and readiness to provide cyber defense during real-world operations.

“Our goal is to provide self-sustaining training and continuous information sharing on tactics, techniques and procedures so Airmen are better equipped to provide their commanders what they need to execute their missions,” said Master Sgt. Joshua Albarran, a DCO integration manager with the USAFE-AFAFRICA communications directorate.

This iteration of TACET VENARI is the first time the newly designated facility and cyber range have been used to exercise defensive cyber operations.

“It took our team approximately six months to procure, design and equip the repurposed rooms to meet the needs of the exercise,” added Taylor. “The facility is the first of its kind, and can offer training for up to 25 people at a time.”

There are four iterations of the exercise planned for this year in order to maximize use of the new facility and help expand capabilities.

“We take cyber defense seriously and one of our focus areas is training. These TACET VENARI cyber exercises allow our newly formed mission defense teams to practice defensive cyber operations tactics, techniques, and procedures in a virtualized environment emulating the real-world cyber terrain they defend at their home stations,” said Col. Jonathan Sutherland, director, communication and chief information officer.

• Date Taken: 03.11.2019
• Date Posted: 03.11.2019 05:37
• Story ID: 313746
• Location: RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE