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Cyberium Reports Explained
The reports generated by Cyberium play an integral role in cyber education by offering real-time, detailed insights into student performance. The Cyberium tracks progress, identifies strengths and weaknesses, and allows for tailored adjustments in training strategies. Furthermore, these reports stem from practical, hands-on exercises simulating real-world cyber threats, enhancing students' cybersecurity skills. With the use of the student dashboard, students can actively monitor their progress, facilitating self-directed learning. Cyberium's unique scoring methods, Standard Performance Scoring (SPS) and Cyberium Effectiveness Score (CES) provide further depth in evaluating students' capabilities. All these aspects, combined with scenario-based learning, contribute to molding proficient cybersecurity professionals, demonstrating the critical importance of Cyberium's reports in the realm of cyber education​.
Shortest Time
In cybersecurity, time is often of the essence due to the rapid pace at which cyber threats evolve and the potential damage they can inflict. The ability to solve cyber scenarios in the shortest possible time allows for quicker threat detection and mitigation, minimizes the exposure of systems to vulnerabilities, and reduces the potential for data loss or business disruption. This is why speed is critical in cybersecurity scenarios.
Documenting errors in cyber scenarios is crucial as it helps identify weaknesses and areas for improvement in a cybersecurity system or protocol. By analyzing these errors, cybersecurity professionals can learn from them, refine strategies, and enhance their defenses. Moreover, it assists in creating more effective training programs, ensuring future preparedness against similar threats.
Errors
CES
The Cyberium Effectiveness Score (CES) is a sophisticated and comprehensive scoring method that evaluates personnel based on their efficiency and accuracy during a given mission or scenario. By taking into account the scenario duration (D), number of errors (E), and time of completion (T), the CES provides a quantitative measure of each personnel's performance. This method not only enables management to better differentiate between team members but also highlights areas where training and resource allocation may be required.
Missions
In Cyberium's scenario reports, each mission's topic and complexity level is clearly outlined. This information is critical as it provides management with insights into the students' capabilities relative to the challenges posed. Understanding the nature and difficulty of the tasks accomplished can help assess a student's skill level, problem-solving abilities, and readiness to handle real-world cybersecurity threats, thereby enabling more informed decision-making regarding future training and resource allocation.
SPS
The Standard Performance Scoring (SPS) method is a more straightforward approach that emphasizes the importance of completing tasks quickly and accurately. This method sets an "excellence time," which represents the ideal time to complete the task. Those who finish within this time receive the maximum score of 100, before any error deductions. As the completion time increases, the score gradually decreases, with the slowest possible completion time resulting in a score of 80, before error deductions. Errors made during the scenario reduce the score by one point per error, with a minimum passing score of 70.
The Cyberium reporting system offers a comprehensive analysis of each student's performance, including their strengths and weaknesses. By tracking aspects such as completed tasks, time taken, and errors made, the system provides a detailed overview of the participant's skill set. This allows trainers and management to identify areas of proficiency, as well as those requiring further development, enabling targeted training and resource allocation to enhance overall cybersecurity competence.
Strength and Weaknesses
Student Ranking
The ability of the Cyberium simulator to display a student's rank is a significant feature. This ranking provides a comparative measure of a student's performance relative to their peers, creating a competitive environment that can motivate students to improve. Furthermore, it offers trainers and management a clear and quantifiable indicator of a student's proficiency and progress, aiding in decision-making processes regarding further training, resource allocation, or task assignments.
Cyberium employs a level points system for each scenario, which serves as a dynamic and effective scoring mechanism. As students progress and their skills improve, the missions become more challenging, aligning with their increasing level points. This approach ensures a continuous learning curve, pushing students to consistently enhance their cybersecurity skills while maintaining a fair and scalable assessment of their abilities.
Level Points
Units
Originally designed for military use, Cyberium organizes its classes into "units". This structure aligns with the hierarchical and cohesive nature of military training, facilitating efficient management and coordination of learning activities. The use of "units" helps to foster a team-based learning environment, reflecting the collaborative approach often required in real-world cybersecurity operations.
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In Cyberium, every student is assigned a unique identifier (like S1, S2, etc.) to ensure anonymity. This system ensures that only the trainer knows the real identity of each student, adding a layer of privacy and security to the learning environment. This is particularly important in a sensitive field like cybersecurity, where confidentiality is paramount.
CES and SPS
Both scoring methods offer unique insights and serve as complementary tools for evaluating and developing cyber unit personnel. The CES provides a detailed, quantitative analysis of each individual's efficiency and accuracy, while the Standard Performance Scoring (SPS) method focuses on balancing speed and precision. By utilizing both methods, management can gain a comprehensive understanding of their team's capabilities, optimize training programs, and ultimately enhance the overall effectiveness of their cyber units.
Standard Performance Scoring (SPS)
The formula provided is a way to calculate the final score (F) for students based on their time of completion (T), excellence time (X), scenario duration (D), and the number of errors (E). It is designed to reward students who complete the scenario quickly and with fewer errors. Here's an explanation of the formula:
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First, the formula checks if the time of completion (T) is less than or equal to the excellence time (X). If this condition is met, the student will receive a perfect score of 100, and the only deduction will be based on the number of errors (E). The formula for this case is: F = 100 - E
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If the time of completion (T) is greater than the excellence time (X), the formula uses a different approach to calculate the score. The idea is to distribute the remaining points (between 80 and 100) based on the time taken to complete the scenario. To do this, the formula calculates the "Time_Unit" which represents the score reduction per minute after the excellence time: Time_Unit = 20 / (D - X)
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Then, the formula calculates the final score (F) by subtracting the time-based score reduction and the errors-based deduction from 100: F = 100 - (T - X) * Time_Unit - E
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For example, let's calculate the scores for each student using the given formula, with an excellence time of 30, and a scenario duration of 120:
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Student1 - Errors = 11, Time of completion is 30 minutes
SPS Score: 89
Student2 - Errors = 7, Time of completion is 35 minutes
SPS Score: 92
Student3 - Errors = 3, Time of completion is 120 minutes
SPS Score: 77
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The SPS formula encourages students to complete the scenario as quickly as possible and with fewer errors, by providing a higher score for those who do so. It also ensures that the final score is within the range of 80 to 100 for those who complete the scenario within the given duration (D).
Cyberium Effectiveness Score (CES)
The Cyberium Effectiveness Score (CES) formula is designed to assess the performance of cyber unit personnel by taking into account their efficiency and accuracy during a given mission or scenario. The formula aims to provide a quantitative measure of the personnel skillsets and capabilities, helping management to better understand and differentiate between team members.
For personnel who completed the scenario, the formula is:
CES = ((500 * D) / T) * (60 - E)
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Here, D represents the scenario duration in hours, E represents the number of errors made by the personnel, and T stands for the time of completion (how long it took the personnel to complete the scenario).
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The importance of each variable in the formula is as follows:
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D (Scenario Duration): This variable helps normalize the score by considering the overall duration of the scenario. It ensures that the score is adjusted according to the complexity or length of the mission, making it a fair evaluation for all participants.
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E (Number of Errors): This factor emphasizes the importance of accuracy. By subtracting the number of errors from the total possible score (60), the formula rewards personnel who can perform tasks with minimal mistakes. This encourages personnel to improve their precision and avoid errors that might jeopardize mission success.
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T (Time of Completion): This aspect of the formula highlights the importance of efficiency. By dividing 500 * D by T, the formula rewards personnel who can complete the scenario quickly. This encourages personnel to work on their time management skills and be more efficient in their operations.
For example, let's calculate the scores for each student using the given formula, for a scenario duration of 120 minutes:
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Student1 - Errors = 11, Time of completion is 30 minutes
CES Score: 1633
Student2 - Errors = 7, Time of completion is 35 minutes
CES Score: 1514
Student3 - Errors = 3, Time of completion is 120 minutes
CES Score: 950
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The CES formula is important because it provides a quantitative measure to assess the performance of cyber unit personnel, taking into account both their efficiency (time of completion) and accuracy (number of errors). This helps management to better understand and differentiate between team members, enabling them to make more informed decisions regarding resource allocation, training needs, and team compositions.