Virtual Security Operations Centre

This is an ongoing research project, where my role involves looking at the current challenges for Cybersecurity and thinking one step ahead of innovative solutions. My focus is on augmenting the power of Data Scientists (in the operations centre) by the use of Extended Reality (VR/AR) technologies, create prototypes and proof-of-concepts to add value in a number of different application areas. Some of the categories that my research touches:

• Remote collaboration – using immersive analytics for data science, VR can be used as a tool for day-to-day work in data analysis, allowing remote communication, collaborative analysis, and a better understandingof the data through the visualisation and interaction options possible.
• Immersive training – Both SOCs or NOCs are typically huge physical spaces with different teams working together to find and solve different issues within tight timeframes and with highly sensitive data. Training up new personnel is a challenge within such environments and hence simulating these environments allows people to train, experiment and gain realistic experience without disturbing the operational environment
• Interactive customer showcase – VR can help demonstrate security challenges, to customers in an immersive way. It can demonstrate various security products,
  how they fit together, and how different teams of people can work together to provide effective security operations.

The result of my research so far is helping developing the Virtual Security Operations Centre (VSOC) prototype. This VR experience reinvents a traditional SOC environment by removing the constraint of a physical location, whilst allowing multi-user collaboration and access to security tools such as BT’s own Nexus and Saturn visual analytics software. The analyst is able able to spawn multiple instance of the security tools he needs and share that information with his collegues in real-time. This project was shortlisted for E&T Innovation Award in Cyber Security.

Disclaimer

This project is currently in development at BT Applied Research. Therefore, this is the only information that I can disclose about this project at the moment.

Role Description

Researching on different VR use cases for BT Cyber Security innovation to create future working tool concepts. The main focus is to create VR prototypes and evaluate the value that brings to the business, generating papers, patents and usability studies. For the prototypes I’m in charge of the different development processes (code, design, modelling and sound). Moreover, I’m responsible to showcase the inventions to investors and customers.

Technical Skills

For the project development, I’m using Unreal Engine with C++ and Blueprints.