Enlighten IT Consulting Signs Cooperative Research Agreement with West Point  

LINTHICUM HEIGHTS, Md., Oct. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MacAulay-Brown, Inc. (MacB), an Alion company, announced today that its subsidiary, Enlighten IT Consulting, LLC, (EITC), has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. The research agreement provides advanced data analytics and tackles system challenges including how the application of analytics within key cyber terrain can help battlefield commanders make decisions about network vulnerabilities, and how these applications can influence combined mission planning. The majority of work will be performed at USMA facilities in New York.

Enlighten Lead Data Scientist Steve Henderson, PhD, a former USMA instructor, along with Dr. Patrick J. Driscoll, USMA Department of Systems Engineering, will lead a team of engineers and data scientists from both organizations in the collaborative effort. Several cadets will also participate as part of their senior engineering capstone design projects.

Research teams will develop a framework for identifying cyber key terrain for maneuver units based on their mission, assigned troops and equipment, and the enemy. This framework will guide risk assessments, mission planning, and enemy targeting. The overarching goal is to provide a model that allows battlefield commanders and staff to make decisions about a modern battlefield that is influenced by cyber operations.

"There has been little work done at the intersection of cyber space and traditional kinetic operations, and this research will produce models for identifying and detecting key terrain across various cyberspace layers and integrate them into mission planning,” said Dr. Henderson. “This collaboration will provide Enlighten with an untapped research base, and West Point with the outside perspective and expertise to inject realism for cadets to execute cutting-edge data science techniques.

ALION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
At Alion, we combine large company resources with small business responsiveness to design and deliver engineering solutions across six core capability areas. With an 80-year technical heritage and an employee base comprised of more than 30% veterans, we bridge invention and action to support military readiness from the lab to the battle space. Our engineers, technologists, and program managers bring together an agile engineering methodology and the best tools on the market to deliver mission success faster and at lower costs. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards; as such, Alion is ISO 9001:2008 certified and maintains CMMI Level 3-appraised development facilities. Based just outside of Washington, D.C., we help our clients achieve practical innovations by turning big ideas into real solutions. To learn more, visit www.alionscience.com.

ABOUT MACAULAY-BROWN, INC., an ALION COMPANY
For 39 years, MacAulay-Brown, Inc. (MacB), an Alion company, has been solving many of the Nation’s most complex National Security challenges. MacB is committed to delivering critical capabilities in the areas of Intelligence and Analysis, Cybersecurity, Secure Cloud Engineering, Research and Development, Integrated Laboratories and Information Technology to Defense, Intelligence Community, Special Operations Forces, Homeland Security, and Federal agencies to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world. MacB was acquired by Alion Science and Technology in August 2018. To learn more, visit www.macb.com.

ABOUT ENLIGHTEN IT CONSULTING, LLC, (EITC), an ALION COMPANY
Since 2007, Enlighten IT Consulting, LLC, (EITC), an Alion company, has been an innovative provider of advanced and mission-critical big data infrastructure, secure cloud engineering, and analytic solutions for federal, state, and local clients with specific emphasis on the warfighter and decision makers responsible for national defense and security. A premier partner of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Enlighten has collaborated with AWS to provide innovative solutions to meet many of the challenges facing the U.S Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community related to big data, cyber analytics, data fusion, and IT transformation. The company is headquartered in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. Enlighten was acquired by MacB in December 2016.

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View source version on GlobeNewswire: http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/10/29/1638434/0/en/Enlighten-IT-Consulting-Signs-Cooperative-Research-Agreement-with-West-Point.html