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UMUC Cybersecurity Capstone Simulation

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- CYBERSECURITY INITIATIVE STARTS-

Welcome to the Hytema cybersecurity team, cyber agent. You’ve been identified as a key

participant in our cybersecurity initiative to protect the U.S. from cyber threats, and we’ve

assigned you to Hytema as a part of a team to protect its cyber assets over multiple rounds of

cyber attack.

Your team’s mission is to improve Hytema’s cybersecurity profile to support the company’s

business mission. Your team must determine and select the best combination of cybersecurity

controls to improve cybersecurity at Hytema and maintain business performance while staying

within budget. Support for the mission must form part of the rationale used when making your

decisions. You and other teams in your group have been assigned an instructor to aid you in

fulfilling this mission.

The stakes are high; compromised cybersecurity for Hytema will weaken military defenses and

may lead to rival nations gaining access to military know-how. Tough times are ahead; hackers

are attacking cyber installations worldwide, and the threats of terrorism, natural disasters, and

economic pressures will make the situation worse. If we can weather the storm successfully,

we’ll have demonstrated that our nation’s cyber defenses are resilient. Stay tuned to the news

reports broadcasted by iCyNN–the best cybersecurity news network in the U.S.–to keep your

team up to date.

Let’s see what you need to do as a team to set the pace and get off to a good start.

First and foremost, collaboration is mission-critical! The decisions you make as a team are

crucial to this cybersecurity mission and your performance, and you are collectively responsible

for your team’s decisions.

Second, a holistic approach is the only viable approach! It’s important to optimize your

performance in all areas rather than focus on only one area. For instance, while you should

spend adequately on cybersecurity, overspending without a clear focus will mean that

Hytema’s profits will dip. You share the budget for your decisions with your team members;

you may be tempted to use the entire budget, and even avail an overdraft, allowing you to

spend more. Take the risks into account when doing so, however, because it will reduce

Hytema’s profitability and the budget available for the next round. As a private entity, you

need to keep an eye on profitability given the current economic climate.

Third, a good strategy is the key to great execution! Look up the events in the Events tab to

know what threats are headed your way. You will also be aided by advisories, which will tell you

UMUC Cybersecurity Capstone Simulation

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how these events can overwhelm your defenses, and the damage they could cause. Get

together with your team to plan a response and implement it through your decisions. As your

team selects cybersecurity controls, remain aware of how these decisions affect the key

performance indicators. With Hytema, Security Index is going to be very important. Downtime

is vital as well, as is Profitability.

Finally, frame your strategy clearly as part of a written team report; this is how your instructor

will know what you are attempting to accomplish in the round.