NGEN Now

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Innovating Network Security

Ensuring security on the world’s largest intranet is no easy task. More than 700,000 Sailors, Marines and civilians rely on NMCI to securely transmit 10 terabytes of data every day and 33 million emails per week. And, with NMCI users completing more than 595 million browser transactions per day, it comes as no surprise NMCI is on the forefront of network security innovation.

Aaron Madril and his Network Defense Team are based out of the Network Operations Center in Norfolk, Va. and Pearl Harbor. For his work to keep NMCI secure and on the cutting edge of network security, Aaron Madril is NGEN Now.

Network security on NMCI is a top priority. Hundreds of thousands of users across the globe access the network and its data from a variety of platforms, including desktop and laptop computers and BlackBerry devices. Each month, NMCI blocks more than 78 million intrusion attempts and more than 35 million spam e-mail messages. How does HP defend the network while simultaneously introducing new innovation with the latest security? For NMCI, a big part of the answer is 8-year HP veteran Aaron Madril.

“Network security is a 24/7/365 job,” says Madril, manager of the Computer Network Defense team. “We see every attack that tries to come through the network. Our job is to analyze what we see, learn how to block attempts and use that experience to find new solutions."

“The unique challenges involved in defending a network of this scale and complexity have required us to develop unparalleled cybersecurity capabilities,” he says. “As a result, our Network Defense Team has become an incubator. Not only are we developing and using the most innovative technologies in the industry, but we are also developing the brightest minds in our field. If you are interested in understanding technology and the affect of user behavior on security, our team is one of the best places in the world to gain that perspective.”

Madril and his team are highly respected in the field of network defense and cyber forensics. They regularly work with government agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), TippingPoint|DVLabs, ArcSight and other private forensic labs on developing the latest cyber defense technologies.

The team’s work on NMCI has led to innovations with the potential to benefit not only NMCI enterprise and government network users but private sector consumers as well. Meanwhile, Madril’s team continues to perform the day-to-day tasks that defend NMCI on what he calls the “cyber battlefield.”

Recently, Madril and his team pioneered a new solution that automatically stores and analyzes network threat data. Before this solution, storing and analyzing the data collected from NMCI was a monumental and costly task. Madril and his team discovered a way to preserve the most critical information for investigating malicious activity. Through this automation, analyst resources are more efficiently allocated, freeing up time to respond to Navy inquiries quicker than ever before.

To further assist with blocking malicious files or activities on the network, Madril and the Network Defense Team developed a capability that has become known as “the sandbox” in the world of cyber forensics. The sandbox, also known as an Automated Malware Analysis System (AMAS), was built to provide analysts a rapid method to identify malicious files, the threat they pose and the file’s behavior. The system isolates the file in the sandbox and neutralizes its capabilities, thus creating a more secure network while helping analysts spot trends and save time when confronted with similar situations.

“I am honored to defend one of the largest networks in the world, shoulder to shoulder with incredibly talented people on behalf of the greatest military force in history,” says Madril. “I have the privilege of assisting today’s warfighter in the fifth battle space — cyberspace — in the war of the future, and helping to ensure the Navy and Marine Corps are prepared for victory.”

For his work to ensure the robust security of NMCI and for driving cybersecurity innovation, Aaron Madril is NGEN Now.

Read more profiles in the NGEN Now Archive.