MITRE, in collaboration with NVIDIA, Cerberus ODC, and Cisco, has developed the first US-based artificial intelligence (AI)-native network architecture for 5G and 6G. The solution is capable of delivering groundbreaking improvements in spectrum agility, performance, and efficiency. MITRE has led the development of the system’s spectrum agility application, which enables real-time control of information flow through the radio access network (RAN) while using AI to minimize interference instantly and without interruptions. This innovation allows network operators to maximize usage of limited spectrum and enhance connectivity. Spectrum agility allows incumbent operators to work without interference. “Creating and sustaining U.S. leadership in telecom is a core tenet of MITRE’s research strategy,” said Charles Clancy, senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Developing an AI-native RAN is the nation’s first and best opportunity to strengthen our domestic telecom industrial base.” The prototype was developed as part of the AI-WIN collaboration and will be further developed to improve sensing and communications. It was built using the NVIDIA AI Aerial platform, Cerberus ODC’s Centralized Unit and Distributed Unit software, and Cisco’s core networking components.
The only certainty in cybersecurity is that nothing is certain. Pamela Petterchak carries that knowledge with her as she explores different corners of the domain at MITRE. In her current role, she works on behalf of U.S. sponsors. Petterchak took advantage of MITRE's Early Career Research Program, which allows young careerists to delve into independent research projects for 50% of their time over the course of a year. She focused her efforts on the exploitation of children online. "I've always been drawn to the idea of using technology to make life better for people," she explains. "But as I started to learn more about cybersecurity, I realized there was a significant gap in how we protect kids online." Petterchak anchored her project with the cyber approach known as threat-informed defense, emphasizing the principle that effectively countering bad actors requires you to understand how they behave. "There's always something new to learn," the engineer says. "And part of our job as cyber people is to find the things that we don't know yet." Petterchak's first foray into cybersecurity—after graduating from Missouri University of Science and Technology—was a Department of Defense internship where she learned the fundamentals of safeguarding federal workspaces.
Artificial Intelligence, Real Innovation. Machine learning is key to advancing AI. With assistance from algorithms and statistical models, machines rapidly analyze data and identify patterns to make decisions on their own. The more knowledge they absorb, the more proficient they get. At MITRE, we’re innovating alongside industry and government, developing artificial intelligence for mission autonomy to support operations in the nation’s most critical domains. Filling the void: As trusted, impartial collaborators, we also bring marketplace competitors together to share information for the greater good (read about MITRE ATLAS™—below). Bottom line: Our work improves workflows, helps with planning, modernizes high-volume processes, and boosts efficiency. But first, assurance: Our AI Discovery and Assurance Lab ensures that AI-enabled systems perform as needed, with acceptable levels of risk. Read our monthly MITRE 360 newsletter. Sign up link at bottom of newsletter.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and MITRE are introducing a new benchmark to enable the evaluation and assessment of large language models (LLMs) for aerospace tasks. Given the safety-critical nature of aerospace, it is imperative that LLMs undergo thorough evaluation prior to their integration into systems. The Aerospace Language Understanding Evaluation (ALUE) benchmark provides a crucial tool for guiding the assurance of LLMs tailored to the unique demands of the aerospace domain. It incorporates diverse datasets and tasks and introduces several metrics for evaluating the correctness of LLM-generated responses. “MITRE has deep expertise in both aviation safety and AI adoption and is aligned with the FAA’s mission to provide the safest and most efficient aerospace in the world,” said Kerry Buckley, Ph.D., MITRE vice president and director, Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD). “ALUE allows the FAA and the aerospace community to create a definitive library of diverse and specific aviation nomenclature and terms that will enable the agency to harness the power of AI for tools and tasks that will continuously improve safety and efficiency today and into the future.”
Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has become the first U.K. financial services benefactor of MITRE ATT&CK® to help globally advance threat-informed defense. The MITRE ATT&CK open-source framework enables organizations to understand how adversaries operate so they can better manage cyber risks and strengthen defenses. MITRE ATT&CK is a cornerstone of Lloyds Banking Group’s cyber defense strategy, providing a unified language to describe and analyze adversary behavior across threat intelligence, detection, response, risk management, and policy. “LBG is proud to become a benefactor of MITRE ATT&CK. This partnership reflects our deep commitment to advancing open-source cyber defense tools not just for our organization, but for the broader ecosystem of suppliers, subject matter experts, and industry peers who rely on them. By supporting MITRE’s globally respected framework, we’re helping to raise the bar for threat intelligence and resilience across the financial sector and beyond,” said Matt Rowe, chief security officer, Lloyds Banking Group “By supporting MITRE ATT&CK’s mission to remain open, independent, and community-driven, Lloyds Banking Group is helping empower defenders worldwide with access to shared knowledge of adversary behavior,” said Wen Masters, vice president of cyber technologies, MITRE. “We’re grateful for their commitment to keeping ATT&CK agile and supporting the global community in strengthening threat-informed defense.”
Reaching outer space has, in some ways, become more accessible than ever. And yet, a small satellite mission costs somewhere between $1 and 12 million. Between the price tag, the chances of equipment failures, and the challenges from increasing space traffic, launching satellites is still risky business. MITRE’s Space Experimentation Lab—or M-SEL—aims to reduce risk, increase speed of innovation, and offer an efficient and shared testing resource. We launched the core of M-SEL, a small LEO satellite, on March 14, partnering with Astro Digital, the company that designed and built the system. The lab in space will facilitate flexible, economical experimentation for radio-frequency communication missions. As a not-for-profit operator of federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), we work at the intersection of government and industry—catalyzing innovation while managing risk on both sides. "M-SEL brings huge potential and is a critical part of our forward-looking research efforts," says Chris Niessen, director of MITRE’s independent R&D program, which developed the capability. "Working with Astro Digital, we've successfully put a platform into space that enables the community to experiment prior to making large government investments." Astro Digital CEO Chris Biddy says, "We're excited to collaborate with MITRE to help reduce risk to government missions and offer a fluid platform to test out different concepts in orbit."
To enable scaling of technology to enhance critical infrastructure resilience, MITRE commercialized its intellectual property for Cyber SEAL to Highway Ventures. The Arkansas-based startup studio, in partnership with VentureWell, a non-profit focused on advancing innovation and entrepreneurship, launched iolite secure, a cybersecurity startup that leverages Cyber SEAL’s ability to detect and mitigate cyber-physical threats to minimize downtime in critical infrastructure. Bridging the gap between government mission demands and industry solutions, MITRE tackles high-risk, cross-domain challenges that industry is either not yet positioned to address or where market demand and return on investment remains uncertain. MITRE will rapidly prototype technologies like Cyber SEAL and then transition them to industry for scaling. Lane Patterson, co-founder of Highway Ventures, credits MITRE’s expertise for the innovation behind Cyber SEAL's success. “FFRDCs [federally funded research and development centers like the ones operated by MITRE] are where purposeful technology is born. Ideas are not constrained by fluctuating demands of the market, which allows them to explore and develop technologies that are truly transformative. Cyber SEAL was developed with a level of cyber sophistication that you just don't find elsewhere. MITRE's deep understanding of cyber-physical systems and their vulnerabilities made them the ideal partner for bringing this technology to market.”
A love of learning and a leap of faith brought cybersecurity engineer Heidys Cabrera to MITRE. Heidys Cabrera didn’t know what to expect when she started her MITRE internship. She thought she’d gain technical skills but had no idea it would boost her confidence, too. Now a full-time cybersecurity engineer, Cabrera says by the end of her summer as an intern in MITRE's Cyber Futures program, “I had grown a lot and was not afraid to try new things or ask questions.” That was in 2022. The chance to keep broadening her knowledge on all fronts is what brought Cabrera back to MITRE—and keeps her here. She’s starting a master’s program through Georgia Tech, taking advantage of our Accelerated Graduate Degree Program education benefit. “My focus is computer science, with a specialization in machine learning,” she says. “I’ve already taken some graduate classes and received a lot of support from colleagues when I needed flexibility.” Cabrera sees the degree as a way to “prepare more for the growing opportunities in AI.” While her current cyber work already involves AI, Cabrera wants to deepen her understanding of its applications. She’s part of a MITRE independent research and development team that uses algorithms and reinforcement learning to identify optimal courses of action for Department of Defense missions.
MITRE has launched AADAPT™ (Adversarial Actions in Digital Asset Payment Technologies), a cybersecurity framework aimed at addressing vulnerabilities in digital financial systems such as cryptocurrency. Emulating the structure of the MITRE ATT&CK® framework, AADAPT provides developers, policymakers, and financial organizations with a structured methodology for identifying, analyzing, and mitigating potential risks associated with digital asset payments. By using insights derived from real-world attacks as cited by more than 150 sources from government, industry, and academia, the AADAPT framework identifies adversarial tactics, techniques, and procedures linked to digital asset payment technologies, including consensus algorithms and smart contracts. "Digital payment assets like cryptocurrency are set to transform the future of global finance, but their security challenges cannot be ignored," said Wen Masters, vice president of cyber technologies at MITRE. "With AADAPT, MITRE is empowering stakeholders to adopt robust security measures that not only safeguard their assets but also build trust across the ecosystem."
April Castañeda, MITRE senior vice president and chief human resources officer, says she’s excited about all the things on her heaping plate: HR excellence, science and technology, enabling and empowering people ... plus superheroes, arts, roller derby, and more. Despite her numerous passions, two constants about April are her “West Coast casual” approach and her focus on prioritizing relationships with people to enable mission success. After joining MITRE, April went on a listening tour across the company to understand employees’ needs and concerns based on their experiences with HR. She’s since developed and launched a three-year People Strategy to continually improve HR operations. Her desired result is to align HR more closely with MITRE’s business side, reduce the administrative burden, and enhance the employee experience. “One of the biggest impacts we're going for is HR operational excellence. My philosophy is simplicity,” she says. “We're going to streamline our processes and make it so people know where to go for HR help and that they really feel heard.” This approach is important to April because “everything that HR does is personal. If we mess up, it's your benefits that get messed up. It's your kid who can't go to the doctor. Anything and everything we do is personal,” she explains.
