CRATE Exercise Control – A cyber defense exercise management and support tool

The growing dependency on computerized systems in society causes an increased need for a high level of cyber security competence among the professionals tasked with operating and protecting such systems. Cyber defense exercises are important for experience-based learning to train professionals working with critical computer systems. However, arranging realistic exercises require skilled instructors and technicians with the right set of tools. In this paper, we describe an exercise management and support tool called CRATE Exercise Control (CEC). The tool was developed by the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI), based on empirical experiences from arranging cyber defense exercises in the cyber range CRATE (Cyber Range And Training Environment), and best practices published by other organizations. We also share experiences made while using CEC during cyber defense exercises, as well as recommendations to consider when designing exercise management and support tools.