Haystack Solutions’ Cyber Aptitude and Talent Assessment (CATA) Reveals Latent Cyber Genius Potential

By Jeff Steuart

Haystack Solutions’ new Cyber Aptitude and Talent Assessment (CATA) has been shown in tests conducted at the University of Maryland’s (UMD) Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) Center to provide cybersecurity aptitude assessments that predict candidate success with uncanny precision.

The findings have far-reaching implications for organizations seeking to discover, onboard and promote top candidates in the current cybersecurity talent squeeze. CATA assessments promise to offer insight into the problem solving, visualization, and pattern recognition capabilities of cybersecurity candidates – qualities that certifications and degrees don’t necessarily reflect.

The assessment can aid commercial sector companies in both streamlining the identification and hiring of top candidates, and optimizing the ROI of limited training budgets.

In performance-under-pressure testing of hundreds of DoD participants from SOCOM, U.S. Navy, West Point, and USAF at UMD, CATA identified aptitudes in key areas associated with cybersecurity excellence such as critical thinking, exhaustiveness of approach and practices, initiating behaviors, real-time effectiveness, and responding behaviors.

CATA focuses on five key cerebral dimensions: critical thinking, deliberate action, real-time action, proactive thinking, and reactive thinking. It includes a series of tests designed to measure cognitive abilities and map a candidate’s natural aptitudes within four domains of commercial sector cybersecurity careers: red teams, blue teams, analytics and forensics, and solutions development. The approach effectively opens the ‘black box’ of the cognitive capabilities that separate optimal candidates, measuring aptitudes that aren’t automatically reflected in professional certifications.

CATA testing is shown to enable assessment of candidates regardless of their native language, English-speaking proficiency, or prior experience with IT and cybersecurity principles.

UMD ARLIS Test Results
Michael Bunting, Ph.D., the Director of Cognitive Security and Information Operations at UMD’s ARLIS center, Haystack’s CTO, and technology co-inventor, said: “CATA’s core has been used by the U.S. Intelligence Community and Department of Defense (DoD) to create some of the highest performing Cyber Teams. Among the DoD partners, CATA testing accurately:

- Classified 97% of all Elite (90% course average or better) performers on a USAF ITF course.

- Distinguished with 84% accuracy between high-skill and untrained USAF cyber personnel.

- Identified six main clusters of test participants that correlated with a variety of course performance metrics across DoD participants (e.g. SOCOM, U.S. Navy, West Point, and USAF) including:

  • High performers in four key disciplines who emerged as top candidates
  • Critical thinkers who scored well in tests such as “Need for Cognition,” “Matrix Reasoning,” and “Dynamic Systems Control”
  • Creative thinkers who scored low on many tasks but who performed well in crucial areas such as “Need for Cognition,” “Need for Cognitive Closure,” and “Pattern Vigilance.”
- CATA results also yielded a composite score for each candidate's total aptitude.

Security Mindsets Principal Charles J. Kolodgy said: “Finding the right candidates and figuring out which employees to invest in additional training are tough decisions that have far ranging impact. The right decision can lead to overall improvement of your organization's security posture, while a poor decision can erode readiness.” He noted the importance of weeding out those with superb qualifications but whose innate skills aren’t a fit for a specific task and career path.

“Cybersecurity is an increasingly complex domain, with a lengthy and arduous learning curve,” said Doug Britton, Haystack Solutions CEO and Founder, and co-developer of CATA. “The commercial sector has long needed insight into the problem solving, visualization, and pattern recognition capabilities of cybersecurity candidates – qualities that certifications and degrees don’t necessarily reflect. The ability to identify those with innate talents and ensure that they’re being trained for the roles for which they’re best suited can help the commercial sector bridge the talent gap more quickly and effectively. CATA meets this urgent challenge.”

Bunting said: “It has been heartening to see it adapted to help identify previously unexplored but inherently genius-level cyber talent. We need to identify everyone that has the cognitive fingerprint of a cyber warrior and get them in the fight.”

Test results will be featured in “Developing Cyber Genius,” a Webinar> on August 4th at 2:30pm Eastern featuring Britton, Bunting and human resources expert Amy Cappellanti-Wolf.

Featured

  • Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Top Five Action Items to Elevate Your Data Security Posture Management and Secure Your Data

    October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and every year most tips for security hygiene and staying safe have not changed. We’ve seen them all – use strong passwords, deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA), be vigilant to spot phishing attacks, regularly update software and patch your systems. These are great recommended ongoing tips and are as relevant today as they’ve ever been. But times have changed and these best practices can no longer be the bare minimum. Read Now

  • Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    In alignment with the state of Mississippi’s mission of “Empowering Mississippi citizens to stay connected and engaged with their government,” Salient's CompleteView VMS is being installed throughout more than 150 state boards, commissions and agencies in order to ensure safety for thousands of constituents who access state services daily. Read Now

  • Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    This year’s Live From GSX program was a rousing success! Again, we’d like to thank our partners, and IPVideo, for working with us and letting us broadcast their solutions to the industry. You can follow our Live From GSX 2023 page to keep up with post-show developments and announcements. And if you’re interested in working with us in 2024, please don’t hesitate to ask about our Live From programs for ISC West in March or next year’s GSX. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • People Say the Funniest Things

    People Say the Funniest Things

    By all accounts, GSX version 2023 was completely successful. Apparently, there were plenty of mix-ups with the airlines and getting aircraft from the East Coast into Big D. I am all ears when I am in a gathering of people. You never know when a nugget of information might flip out. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

Featured Cybersecurity

New Products

  • XS4 Original+

    XS4 Original+

    The SALTO XS4 Original+ design is based on the same proven housing and mechanical mechanisms of the XS4 Original. The XS4 Original+, however, is embedded with SALTO’s BLUEnet real-time functionality and SVN-Flex capability that enables SALTO stand-alone smart XS4 Original+ locks to update user credentials directly at the door. Compatible with the array of SALTO platform solutions including SALTO Space data-on-card, SALTO KS Keys as a Service cloud-based access solution, and SALTO’s JustIn Mobile technology for digital keys. The XS4 Original+ also includes RFID Mifare DESFire, Bluetooth LE and NFC technology functionality. 3

  • ComNet CNGE6FX2TX4PoE

    The ComNet cost-efficient CNGE6FX2TX4PoE is a six-port switch that offers four Gbps TX ports that support the IEEE802.3at standard and provide up to 30 watts of PoE to PDs. It also has a dedicated FX/TX combination port as well as a single FX SFP to act as an additional port or an uplink port, giving the user additional options in managing network traffic. The CNGE6FX2TX4PoE is designed for use in unconditioned environments and typically used in perimeter surveillance. 3

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area. 3