Cyber Mission Assurance: A Guide to Reducing the Uncertainties of Operating in a Contested Cyber Environment
Abstract
Military organizations have embedded Information and Communication Technology (ICT), collectively known as "Cyberspace," into their core operational processes across all levels of military operations. Cyber mission assurance is an essential risk management activity focused on assuring an organization's mission capability in response to loss or degradation of cyber capabilities. The cyber mission assurance process requires an in depth analysis of the organization's mission including enumeration of its core mission processes, prioritization of mission processes, mapping of mission processes to underlying cyber capabilities, and application of control measures to mitigate risks to mission capability. Unfortunately, the structure of military organizations makes this type of analysis challenging as the mission tasks and cyber ICT capabilities always span multiple organizational boundaries. The 24th Air Force recently developed new draft guidance for conducting cyber mission assurance. The goal of this research is to present a methodology enabling mission owners to efficiently prepare for cooperative cyber mission assurance engagements with 24th Air Force. The proposed methodology incorporates the new 24th Air Force guidance; best practices from commercial, governmental, and military organizations; and incorporates operational lessons learned. Application of the proposed methodology will enable more efficient and productive cyber mission assurance engagements with 24th Air Force.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 14, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA563712
Entities
People
- Michael D. Pritchett
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology