Courses
Our training and educational solutions range from single lectures, daylong seminars, or multi-day classes. We can tailor these to meet specific needs, budget, and time constraints. Our staff includes highly-qualified academics and professionals; in most cases, WDC instructors are scholar-practitioners.
Description
This course will provide a strong understanding of the Geopolitical environment and realities we live in today. Focusing on US adversaries and allies; culture, history, leadership, actions, cyber strategies and policies, and how this fundamental knowledge increases the ability to keep our networks and our nation more secure. Instructors will profile strategies, organizational structure, emerging capabilities and operational activities of ‘bad actors” in the cyber domain. Government and industry professionals need to understand how cyber adversaries in China, Iran, Russia, North Korea and other countries are working tirelessly to get around network defenses to steal intellectual property, disrupt business or attack our national economy or national defense. Targeted intrusions will continue to proliferate and nation-states will use espionage to collect information from any organization with valuable data that will serve a country’s national interests. Participants taking this course will have a greater ability to characterize risks and threats, identify and detect attacks and can help provide the best course of prevention, and/or remediation. Learning Outcomes
- China Cyber Threats
- Russia Cyber Threats
- Other World Cyber Threats
- Cyber Crime
Description
This ground-breaking course focuses on the ability of terrorist organizations to navigate and exploit the cyber domain, and how it is a serious and growing concern. ISIS, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda affiliates and so-called lone wolves are but a few who have demonstrated sophisticated, improving and effective skills to communicate, propagate radical and violent ideologies, recruit sympathizers and operatives, collect intelligence, plan and oversee operations, exploit messaging and counter competing narratives. Effective counter terrorism strategies and operations must not only recognize and understand, but also address and exploit this new, important and challenging dimension of conflict. The leading objective of this course is to provide the counter terrorism professional with a deeper understanding of how foreign and domestic terror operatives exploit the cyber domain to recruit and communicate, propagate radical ideologies, acquire finances and other resources, collect intelligence, and plan and support operations. Learning Outcomes
- Various threat profiles and capabilities to exploit the cyber domain
- Terrorists’ sophisticated exploitation of social media
- Terrorists’ highly adaptive use of the “dark web”
- Counter terrorism strategies, operations and tactics in the cyber domain
Description
This program focuses on the best practices and methodology to empower organizations to plan, implement, and refine capabilities to mitigate malicious and unintentional insider threats to IT infrastructure, information systems, facilities, and people. Emphasis will be on developing an organizational and information infrastructure for combating insider threats; policies, procedures, and guidelines for such operations; and units capable of conducting these duties. This training will offer participants awareness of a wide spectrum of insider threats to organizations, means of detection, best practices in prevention, and paths toward developing programs to protect against both malicious and unintentional insider threats in the future. Focusing on conceptual and fundamental concept, participants should be able serve as leaders for combating insider threats within their parent organization, able to train others and pass on lessons learned.Learning Outcomes
- Identifying and Categorizing Insider Threats
- Mitigating Insider Threat Effects
- Information Access, Dissemination, and Handling Procedures
- Organizing for Insider Threat Prevention and Response
Description
This course examines the relevance and importance of traditional intelligence tradecraft to overall cybersecurity, reviewing the last 15 years of technology growth to identify trends, issues and vulnerabilities to a nation’s security in the cyber domain. The course will review some of the most noteworthy cyber breaches and discuss the methods used by hackers to take advantage of computer systems, thus rendering vulnerable key sectors of critical infrastructure. The course will conclude with a review of current national and international cybersecurity standards and policies.Learning Outcomes
- Lifecycle of Cyber Intelligence (Strategic, Operational, Tactical)
- Technology trends, opportunities and challenges
- Vulnerabilities in the cyber domain
- Noteworthy breaches and hackers’ methodologies
- National and international standards and policies
Description
This program focuses on basic cyber intelligence analysis skills and how to integrate strategic and tactical cyber intelligence into usable and impactful strategic assessments. These lessons can be applied to the public or public sector, including the military, and can be specially configured per audience. Course content focuses on fundamental all-source cyber analytical skills such as interpreting the cyberattack life cycle, attribution, and vetting information. Students should be relatively new analysts with one year or less of strategic intelligence experience and possess some training in research and intelligence methodology. Learning Outcomes
- Integrating Tactical and Strategic Intelligence
- Evaluating and Accessing Cyber Intelligence
- Cyber Threat Landscape
- Cyber Intelligence Support to Operations
- Analytical War Game-Cyber Iteration
Schedule
Description
This program focuses on the methodology involved in the creation of real-time and over-the-horizon unclassified intelligence sharing and fusion processes that reach across all of government, academia, industry, etc. The creation of a central analytic hub to develop and disseminate unclassified cyber intelligence for use by a trusted and vetted group of participants will allow participating entities to reach across industries and communities, tying them together as a single cyber warrior, as well as allowing for the emergence of international and regional hubs for cyber intelligence sharing. This workshop will focus on training a cohort of analysts, managers, and leaders across multiple departments, agencies, and industries to conduct effective cyber intelligence sharing. Course materials include a survey of best practices in intelligence sharing and the fundamental structural and process elements involved in constructing a robust intelligence sharing mechanism from the ground up.Learning Outcomes
- Intelligence Sharing Methodology
- Intelligence Fusion
- Taxonomy and Common Operating Pictures
- Information Processing, Access Control, Handling Procedures, and Dissemination
Description
This course provides government and corporate professionals with a fundamental understanding of how best to apply cyber intelligence to business strategies and better assess risk/reward value. This course facilitates clarity and understanding to executives on why and how to incorporate cyber intelligence into the fabric of their strategies and operations. The objective of this course is to provide executive participants with the mission critical understanding of cyber intelligence, its role and value in modern business strategy, whether in private sector or government. Participants will learn about the foundations and history of cybersecurity, the high-level relationship of technology in cyber intelligence, the importance of technology innovation in cyber intelligence and a practical understanding of the importance of cyber intelligence relative to national security for private sector and government. Participants will learn how to apply this critical cyber intelligence understanding to evaluate and improve relevant business strategiesLearning Outcomes
- Foundations and History
- Cyber Crime Effects
- Technology and the Cyber Threat Landscape
- Cyber Interoperability in Business
- Technology Innovation and how it affects your organization
- Cyber Intelligence Business Strategy – Case Studies
Description
This course of instruction provides high-level understanding of the current and emerging geopolitical realities in the cyber domain. Specifically, it highlights the need to inform government and industry leaders/professionals of their strategic, cyber security concerns and why their mission-critical functions, which are increasingly dependent on a cyber infrastructure, might be at risk. This instruction explores the importance of traditional tools of statecraft – diplomacy, political warfare, classic intelligence and counterintelligence tradecraft—in understanding why cyberattacks and espionage might occur and how to mitigate their impact on the enterprise. Learning Outcomes
- Introduction to the cyber domain, its evolution and importance to mission-critical functions
- Smmary profiles of threat actors and their geopolitical interests
- Introduction to threat and risk assessments
- What is cyber intelligence and why is it important?
- Examine cyber-based efforts as tools of statecraft for government and idustry
Description
This course is designed to acquaint participants with an extensive series of complex and diverse cyber crises (both historical and contemporary in nature) that have befuddled leaders. The course is also designed to contribute to a better understanding of the methodological problems of studying crisis decision-making. It will test propositions about decision-making, conflict, the role of intermediaries and third parties, internal bureaucratic struggles and international interaction, legislative bodies, media coverage, perception management and public confidence.Learning Outcomes
• Current Crisis Management and Decision Making Practices and Protocols • Principles of Crisis Management and Decision Making • Strategic Indicators and Warning • Contingency Plans and Planning • Examples of Crisis Management and Decision Making Responses • Response and Recovery—Immediate and Long Term
Description
The value of this discipline stretches across many industries and impacts many companies and employees. As tens of millions of people are dependent on critical infrastructure services, it also is a prime target for an adversary. Having a thorough understanding of risks in critical infrastructure, the types of attacks that are more likely to be seen and the development and use of cyber Intel to increase security is foundation to success. Students will gain insight into how Cyber Intel informs decisions to strengthen infrastructure security and resilience, as well as response and recovery efforts during incidents. Informed professionals protect the nation’s critical infrastructure through an integrated analytical approach evaluating the potential consequences of disruption from cyber threats and incidents and providing data on traditional kinetic attacks. Students will also gain insight into how control systems differ from information systems and how cyber intelligence informs the impact of their exploitation. This course will enable technicians and leaders to identify, mitigate and recover from internal and external cyber threats unique to control system domain. Learning Outcomes
- Risk assessment on all Critical Infrastructure Sectors
- Policies, laws and best practice
- NIST Cybersecurity Framework
- Emerging threats and new vulnerabilities
Description
This program focuses on best practices for cyber intelligence analysis, and integrating strategic and tactical cyber intelligence to support high-level operations and decision making. These lessons can be applied to analysts working in the public or public sector, including the military, and can be specially configured per audience. Course content consists of intermediate all-source cyber analytical skills for managers, emerging thought leaders, and mid-level analysts. Students should possess one to three years of strategic intelligence experience as well having some familiarity with cyber, research, and intelligence methodology. Learning Outcomes
- All-Source Cyber Intelligence Tradecraft
- Open Source and Intelligence Fusion
- Cyber Threat Actors
- Cyber Intelligence Support to Operations
- Analytical War Game-Cyber Iteration
Schedule
Description
A nation’s security is increasingly dependent on the ability to operate reliably and safely in the cyber domain, and yet countries are constantly challenged by both the maturing capabilities of state and non-state actors to exploit vulnerabilities and by the inherently different perspectives in the private and public sectors on the best course of action. This course examines key legislation, national-level policies and strategies, and the current organizational roles and responsibilities among the public and private sectors to monitor, detect, analyze, attribute and respond effectively in the cyber domain—both nationally and internationally. The course reviews current threats of specific interest to seminar participants as well as examines opportunities to strengthen collaboration with partners and allies.Learning Outcomes
- Setting the Stage: survey of current cyber threats to (U.S.) national security
- Risk Assessments: understanding our vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks and espionage
- Five Essential Functions for cyber intelligence analysis
- Cyber intelligence and corporations
- Beyond Sharing: the public-private partnership
- Cyber legislation, policies and current practice
- Opportunities to further improve our cyber security posture
Description
This program focuses on the best practices involved in engaging every department and agency within a government structure into a coherent, unified, and targeted cyber resilience approach. It seeks to unify national cyber security into one goal, one taxonomy, and one cooperatively-developed path to success. This process includes the creation of whole-of-government cyber resilience requirements; capability provisions to meet these requirements; metrics by which to measure success; and a governance structure designed to enforce these metrics. This training focuses on the basics of the Whole of Government approach, introducing them to important conceptual issues and the challenges involved in adopting this method. Attendees will gain a fundamental understanding of what Whole of Government means, best practices on how to implement this approach, and means by which to measure if it is working.Learning Outcomes
- Taxonomy and Common Operating Procedures
- Organizing for Strategic Cyber Intelligence Across Multiple Sectors
- Framing the Problem and Solutions Through Effective Strategic Intelligence
- Information Sharing
- Crisis Management and Response