Inter-American Defense Board increases cyber training capacity by more than 100%

Their story

Founded in 1942, the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) is the oldest international defense organization in the world. With 29 member countries across North and South America, the IADB serves as a trusted advisor to the Organization of American States (OAS) on issues related to national defense, arms control, security, humanitarian demining, and other matters.

Beginning in 2019, the IADB introduced a robust Cyber Defense program to strengthen the cyber capabilities of member countries against a growing number of threats. The program features three main pillars, which include Network, Capacity Building, and Conference.

The Network pillar is focused on academia, government, and the private sector while Capacity Building involves offering training and exercises to member countries. The final pillar, Conference, focuses on participating in and hosting high-level in-person events to showcase best practices in the cyber field.

Their goal

In keeping up with their Cyber Defense Program, the IADB recently launched the “Cyber Shield” project, aligned with the Capacity Building pillar. This project aims to upskill select ‘knowledge multiplier’ members on critical cyber skills and techniques which they can then use to educate members in their own region.

One key member of this is Flavio Costa, Cyber Defense Advisor for the IADB. “Our organization aims to reduce the gap in cyber capabilities across the Americas and promote a culture of cooperation among the countries,” he said. “It's important to remember that a weak link in the chain of cybersecurity can lead to major incidents affecting all of the Americas.”

To ensure cooperation among countries and a strong chain of cybersecurity, Flavio and his team are responsible for identifying products, services, and high-level training programs that aren’t just scalable, but beneficial and accessible to all 29 member states. Adding to the complexity of this task, each member country has previously been responsible for providing their own training, and while the training was high quality, there was a lack of standardization and limitations as to what each country could offer.

“Previously, we provided isolated training sessions, but the varying maturity levels among countries sometimes made these sessions less effective,” Flavio said. “We needed a platform that could accommodate basic, intermediate, and advanced training levels and include a robust dashboard to track progress.”

Their solution

After thorough evaluation, the IADB Cybersecurity Section chose HTB for the platform’s ability to flexibly adapt to their diverse needs, which was essential for effectively serving all member states, in addition to gaining access to comprehensive training modules and a structured CTF environment.

Initially, only a select number of member countries received access to the HTB platform as the IADB team began prepping for their “Cooperation for Flag” event; a CTF event tailored specifically to foster collaboration and cooperation between member states. During this event, participating member countries were tasked with working together to solve 24 challenges in 24 hours.

Early on into the planning process, briefings were held with participants and knowledge multipliers to emphasize that the event was not a competition but an opportunity to practice international cooperation to solve complex problems. The IADB also used Discord as a communication platform which enabled real-time conversations among participants while also facilitating interaction between the moderation team and the countries, as well as promotion of the event.

Their success

Once word spread about the collaborative event with HTB, interest quickly grew and more than 100 members from 18 IADB countries registered for the “Cooperation for Flag'' Cyber Defense Challenge. 

In addition to the outstanding participation numbers following the event, the IADB was able to:

• Increase their cyber training capacity by more than 100%

• Expand time spent on training from 8 hours to 2,160 hours in just 3 months

• Add additional licenses to their HTB Enterprise Plan

• Promote and strengthen cross-continental collaboration among IADB member countries

“The main result of introducing HTB has been the ability to provide high-level training tailored to the specific needs of our member states,” said Flavio. “Additionally, we have noticed an increased interest from the countries, which has helped to promote the IADB's work in the field of cyber defense.”

Following the event, a satisfaction survey was conducted with participants which revealed:

• More than 88% of participants had a positive experience

• More than 90% of participants highly rated the quality and complexity of challenges

• More than 85% of participants believed the challenges simulated a realistic environment

Adding to the positive survey results, one participant noted “The event is an excellent opportunity for us to cooperate and train as a great community, for the benefit of the security of our countries. This CTF exercise provided us with the opportunity to test our skills and collaborate with colleagues in the cybersecurity field."

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Products Used

HTB Capture The Flag Competitions

• Customizable, fun-fueled tabletop exercises for hands-on skill development

• Realistic challenges to improve identification and mitigation of security issues

• Team building activities to foster collaboration among participants

• Enhance problem-solving skills and ability to think creatively

About Hack The Box

Hack The Box is the Cyber Performance Center with the mission to provide a human-first platform to create and maintain high-performing cybersecurity individuals and organizations. Hack The Box is the only platform that unites upskilling, workforce development, and the human focus in the cybersecurity industry, and it’s trusted by organizations worldwide for driving their teams to peak performance. Offering an all-in-one environment for continuous growth, assessment, and recruitment, Hack The Box provides solutions for all cybersecurity domains. Launched in 2017, Hack The Box brings together the largest global cybersecurity community of more than 2.9 million platform members. Rapidly growing its international footprint and reach, Hack The Box is headquartered in the UK, with additional offices in the US, Australia, and Greece.

For more information, please visit hackthebox.com.