BBN Technologies, has been awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to contribute to its cutting-edge cybersecurity initiative: the Intelligent Generation of Tools for Security program. This initiative is aimed at enhancing national cyber defense by automating the detection and mitigation of sophisticated exploit chains before they can be used in real-world cyberattacks.
Exploit chains, which link multiple vulnerabilities together to breach systems, have become increasingly prevalent due to the growing complexity of modern cyber threats. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) now lists over 1,300 known exploited vulnerabilities, and that number continues to rise. Current vulnerability assessment techniques remain largely manual, demanding extensive time and specialized expertise. The INGOTS program seeks to transform this landscape by automating the modeling, analysis, and modification of exploit chains—streamlining both threat detection and response.
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“Combating exploit chains effectively requires more than isolated vulnerability detection,” said Jack Dietz, principal investigator at BBN. “We need systems capable of simulating real-world attacks and forecasting risks before they are exploited in the wild.”
As part of its role in INGOTS, BBN Technologies will design and implement a novel platform called STALAGMITE (System Test of Android at Large-scale Accelerating Generation and Modeling for INGOTS Test and Evaluation). This testbed will support rigorous evaluation and validation of tools used to analyze Android-based exploit chains. The key features of STALAGMITE include:
Realistic Simulation Environments: By integrating both virtual and physical infrastructure, the system enables accurate testing of Android vulnerabilities in controlled yet authentic conditions.
Proactive Threat Mitigation: INGOTS components will work seamlessly within the platform to help cybersecurity teams identify and neutralize threats in advance.
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Accelerated Research Capabilities: The testbed fosters reproducible, automated experiments, advancing software security research and improving defenses for both operating systems and applications.
Dietz emphasized the importance of automation in cybersecurity, stating, “The current manual methods of assessing exploits are resource-intensive and not scalable. Our goal is to reduce that burden by providing automated, precise testing across diverse devices and configurations—ultimately improving cybersecurity resilience.”
Though INGOTS is initially centered around the Android ecosystem, its tools and strategies are expected to be widely applicable across multiple domains, including enterprise, government, and defense environments.
BBN Technologies is partnering with Assured Information Security for this initiative. The project will be carried out at BBN’s facilities in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as in Columbia, Maryland, and Rome, New York.
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Source: prnewswire
