For six years, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency worked on a program known as Plan X to help commanders plan and conduct cyber operations.
The goal was for leaders to see the cyber environment just as they would the physical world.
Now, the Air Force and the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office are continuing the program and have renamed it Project IKE. The move was first reported by Inside Cybersecurity.
“The Strategic Capabilities Office has continued the work begun by DARPA with the aim of maturing Project IKE technology for eventual operational use,” a Department of Defense spokesman told Fifth Domain. “Project IKE is an artificial intelligence-enabled tool which will provide a new way for cyber forces to understand the common operating picture.”
In addition, as part of that progress, the Air Force Research Lab awarded Two Six Labs a contract in July worth $95 million.
The program is expected to factor into a larger initiative known as the Joint Cyber Command and Control, which is in its nascent stages and already behind schedule. In addition, because of its emphasis on planning, IKE could serve as the foundation for this new command and control system for the military’s cyber teams.
