// THREAT DETECTION AND DATA PRIVACY TERM
War Game
A war game is a simulated cyberattack designed to test an organization's defense capabilities and incident response procedures in a controlled environment. It's like a fire drill for a digital breach, helping teams practice their roles and find weaknesses before a real attack happens.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
A cybersecurity war game is an offensive security exercise and form of adversary emulation where a red team simulates real-world threat actor tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) against a live production or test environment. This active simulation tests the effectiveness of security controls, the blue team's detection and response capabilities, and the overall resilience of the organization's incident response plan (IRP).
BACKGROUND
In computer security, Capture the Flag (CTF) is an exercise in which participants attempt to find text strings, called "flags", which are secretly hidden in purposefully vulnerable programs or websites. They can be used for both competitive or educational purposes. In two main variations of CTFs, participants either steal flags from other participants or from organizers. A mixed competition combines these two styles. Competitions can include hiding flags in hardware devices, they can be both online or in-person, and can be advanced or entry-level. The game is inspired by the traditional outdoor sport with the same name. CTFs are used as a tool for developing and refining cybersecurity skills, making them popular in both professional and academic settings.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- cyber drill
- red team exercise
- adversary simulation
- threat emulation
- breach and attack simulation
- cyber exercise
- penetration test
USAGE NOTE
War games are used proactively to validate security investments and train personnel by revealing blind spots in technology, processes, and team coordination.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to War Game.
A multinational defense, security, and aerospace company that provides advanced wargaming and simulation solutions for military training, mission rehearsal, and strategic decision-making. They develop virtual environments and constructive simulations to model complex conflict scenarios.
A global aerospace and defense technology company that creates and integrates advanced simulation and wargaming environments for military training and operational analysis. Their systems enable multi-domain exercises, connecting live, virtual, and constructive assets.
A major aerospace and defense company that develops sophisticated cyber wargaming platforms and training solutions. Their cyber ranges provide realistic, hands-on environments for defense and intelligence professionals to practice detecting and responding to complex cyberattacks.
An American aerospace, arms, defense, and technology corporation that develops and delivers comprehensive training and simulation solutions. They build wargaming systems for strategic analysis, mission rehearsal, and collective training across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains.
A not-for-profit organization managing federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs). MITRE designs and facilitates wargames and technology-driven exercises to help government sponsors explore complex operational, strategic, and cybersecurity challenges.
A manufacturer of simulation technologies. Its Defense & Security division provides modeling, simulation, and training solutions for global defense forces, developing immersive synthetic environments for operational mission rehearsal and tactical wargaming.
A company specializing in high-fidelity cyber ranges. Their platform enables organizations to conduct realistic cyber wargames, red/blue team exercises, and test security tools against simulated, large-scale cyberattacks in a safe environment.
A cybersecurity training company that provides a platform for hands-on skill development. They offer crisis simulations and cyber wargames that challenge security, engineering, and executive teams to respond to realistic, unfolding cyber incidents.