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MALIBU, Calif.—October 9, 2009. A team of HRL researchers has won a VAST Challenge 2009 award for developing a cyber security network anomaly analysis tool. The award was presented at the Symposium on Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST), sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
The 2009 competition challenged teams to develop cyber security tools that could help analysts identify a fictitious Embassy employee leaking information to the outside world. Teams were provided data sets and background information to use in developing their solutions. Entries consisted of a written description and a short video demonstrating the utility of the tools developed.
The analysis tool developed by the team processes employee badge and network traffic data "to assist an analyst in detecting, analyzing and visualizing anomalies and their relationships," the team wrote in a paper submitted following the competition. Using network visualization techniques, the system is able to quickly identify suspicious network traffic and subsequently build a table connecting the suspicious behavior with potential subjects.
The tool was cited as the best "one-screen shot" of the solution by the VAST 2009 judges, who evaluated entries based on the correctness of the analysis and the utility of the tool.
The team included HRL scientists Drs. David Allen, Tsai-Ching Lu and David Huber.
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HRL Laboratories, LLC, Malibu, California (www.hrl.com) is a corporate research-and-development laboratory owned by The Boeing Company and General Motors specializing in research into sensors and materials, information and systems sciences, applied electromagnetics, and microelectronics. HRL provides custom research and development and performs additional R&D contract services for its LLC member companies, the U.S. government, and other commercial companies.