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“Don’t talk to strangers!” Growing up, we heard that a lot. These days, the warning requires a footnote—because for young people who spend a good chunk of their lives on the internet, talking to people you don’t know is a natural part of the allure. “Kids are already living online, using social media, and gaming,” says ATT&CK's Deputy Lead Amy Robertson. “For their safety, they should be aware of the malicious people who could be on the other end of their screens.” More than a decade ago, MITRE developed ATT&CK to formally raise awareness about said “bad actors.” It has since become the global gold standard for the collective cybersecurity community tracking adversary behavior in the wild. As stewards of the free resource, a MITRE team—including Robertson—provides context and a common language for adversary tactics and techniques. They also share intel for how to defend against clever hackers. The tool’s value to cybersecurity practitioners is obvious, but ATT&CK’s leadership also believes in the benefit of sharing knowledge with novice audiences. Over the years, Robertson, Courtney Clark (ATT&CK's strategy lead), Lauren Lusty (ATT&CK's enterprise lead), and others have presented ATT&CK 101 primers at more than a dozen high schools and college classes. Recently, Robertson introduced ATT&CK and core cyber concepts to an even younger generation, starting with first through third grade Girl Scouts.
Emily Pertl genuinely likes problem solving, and she’s happiest when her skills make something better. A principal data science engineer in MITRE’s Intelligence Center, Pertl dedicates her time outside of work to tackling an intractable problem in her community: hunger. Pertl works in our Clarksburg, West Va., location and lives in neighboring Monongalia “Mon” County on the Pennsylvania border. She moved to the area from New Jersey, earning her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate from West Virginia University. While Mon County is known for its beauty and recreation, “there are pockets of deep poverty,” says Pertl, who joined MITRE in 2016. “One in five kids in West Virginia face food insecurity, meaning they don’t know when they’ll eat next. And those are just the kids we know of.” Pertl says many families don’t access assistance for fear of feeling judged or ashamed. For the past six years, she has served in multiple roles—as vice president, treasurer, and food distribution lead for Pantry Plus More. The Pantry is a nonprofit committed to “ending hunger and giving every child equal opportunity to succeed in learning.” The Pantry’s mission hits home for Pertl, who remembers sparse shelves near the end of the month before her mom got her paycheck. She takes to heart what her mom told her growing up: “Do better than me.”
Surrounded by some of the foremost experts in tech, science, health, and defense, early-career professionals at MITRE never lack for guidance and advice. But they also gain and share knowledge from another source: each other. NextUp, an internal employee group, operates for early-career professionals by early-career professionals across our two main campuses and 10 additional sites across the United States. Built from a collective desire to combine personal development and network-building, the group provides an opportunity for staff just entering the workforce to develop leadership skills. “Not all companies offer a group like NextUp," says Megan McCulley, a Fort Meade, Md.-based applied cybersecurity engineer. “Immediately coming into a new job as a young professional doesn’t always put you in a place to meet others at this stage—but NextUp fills that hole at MITRE.”
MITRE, in collaboration with NVIDIA, Cerberus ODC, and Cisco, has developed the first US-based artificial intelligence (AI)-native network architecture for 5G and 6G. The solution is capable of delivering groundbreaking improvements in spectrum agility, performance, and efficiency. MITRE has led the development of the system’s spectrum agility application, which enables real-time control of information flow through the radio access network (RAN) while using AI to minimize interference instantly and without interruptions. This innovation allows network operators to maximize usage of limited spectrum and enhance connectivity. Spectrum agility allows incumbent operators to work without interference. “Creating and sustaining U.S. leadership in telecom is a core tenet of MITRE’s research strategy,” said Charles Clancy, senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Developing an AI-native RAN is the nation’s first and best opportunity to strengthen our domestic telecom industrial base.” The prototype was developed as part of the AI-WIN collaboration and will be further developed to improve sensing and communications. It was built using the NVIDIA AI Aerial platform, Cerberus ODC’s Centralized Unit and Distributed Unit software, and Cisco’s core networking components.
The only certainty in cybersecurity is that nothing is certain. Pamela Petterchak carries that knowledge with her as she explores different corners of the domain at MITRE. In her current role, she works on behalf of U.S. sponsors. Petterchak took advantage of MITRE's Early Career Research Program, which allows young careerists to delve into independent research projects for 50% of their time over the course of a year. She focused her efforts on the exploitation of children online. "I've always been drawn to the idea of using technology to make life better for people," she explains. "But as I started to learn more about cybersecurity, I realized there was a significant gap in how we protect kids online." Petterchak anchored her project with the cyber approach known as threat-informed defense, emphasizing the principle that effectively countering bad actors requires you to understand how they behave. "There's always something new to learn," the engineer says. "And part of our job as cyber people is to find the things that we don't know yet." Petterchak's first foray into cybersecurity—after graduating from Missouri University of Science and Technology—was a Department of Defense internship where she learned the fundamentals of safeguarding federal workspaces.
Artificial Intelligence, Real Innovation. Machine learning is key to advancing AI. With assistance from algorithms and statistical models, machines rapidly analyze data and identify patterns to make decisions on their own. The more knowledge they absorb, the more proficient they get. At MITRE, we’re innovating alongside industry and government, developing artificial intelligence for mission autonomy to support operations in the nation’s most critical domains. Filling the void: As trusted, impartial collaborators, we also bring marketplace competitors together to share information for the greater good (read about MITRE ATLAS™—below). Bottom line: Our work improves workflows, helps with planning, modernizes high-volume processes, and boosts efficiency. But first, assurance: Our AI Discovery and Assurance Lab ensures that AI-enabled systems perform as needed, with acceptable levels of risk. Read our monthly MITRE 360 newsletter. Sign up link at bottom of newsletter.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and MITRE are introducing a new benchmark to enable the evaluation and assessment of large language models (LLMs) for aerospace tasks. Given the safety-critical nature of aerospace, it is imperative that LLMs undergo thorough evaluation prior to their integration into systems. The Aerospace Language Understanding Evaluation (ALUE) benchmark provides a crucial tool for guiding the assurance of LLMs tailored to the unique demands of the aerospace domain. It incorporates diverse datasets and tasks and introduces several metrics for evaluating the correctness of LLM-generated responses. “MITRE has deep expertise in both aviation safety and AI adoption and is aligned with the FAA’s mission to provide the safest and most efficient aerospace in the world,” said Kerry Buckley, Ph.D., MITRE vice president and director, Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD). “ALUE allows the FAA and the aerospace community to create a definitive library of diverse and specific aviation nomenclature and terms that will enable the agency to harness the power of AI for tools and tasks that will continuously improve safety and efficiency today and into the future.”
Many people chat with their neighbors about the weather or their favorite sports teams. MITRE’s Lisa Bembenick favors denser topics, like geopolitical strategy and global stability. For nearly a year, Bembenick and her neighbor, a partner from a leading global management consulting firm, shared “casual” conversation in the driveway about the state of the world. The neighbor explained his organization’s role as one of just 20 U.S. partners in the Munich Security Conference. Bembenick talked about our company’s experience as operator of federally funded R&D centers, or FFRDCs, and our data-driven, analytical approach to solving complex problems. Eventually, the neighbor suggested introducing her to Munich leadership—setting the stage for MITRE and Munich to connect. From that introduction, the long-time global strategist leaned into her deep technical acumen and talent for connecting people and priorities to drive progress. Her vision and diligence helped MITRE land a first-ever seat at the Munich Security Conference last year, along with an invitation to the 2025 forum held February 14-16. “Lisa brings a unique skillset to our multidisciplinary team,” says Greg Crawford, deputy general manager for MITRE National Security Sector. “She’s able to articulate the unique role of FFRDCs to world leaders not familiar with our mission, build trust and credibility, find alignment with their priorities and ours, and develop impactful strategies with our team.”
Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has become the first U.K. financial services benefactor of MITRE ATT&CK® to help globally advance threat-informed defense. The MITRE ATT&CK open-source framework enables organizations to understand how adversaries operate so they can better manage cyber risks and strengthen defenses. MITRE ATT&CK is a cornerstone of Lloyds Banking Group’s cyber defense strategy, providing a unified language to describe and analyze adversary behavior across threat intelligence, detection, response, risk management, and policy. “LBG is proud to become a benefactor of MITRE ATT&CK. This partnership reflects our deep commitment to advancing open-source cyber defense tools not just for our organization, but for the broader ecosystem of suppliers, subject matter experts, and industry peers who rely on them. By supporting MITRE’s globally respected framework, we’re helping to raise the bar for threat intelligence and resilience across the financial sector and beyond,” said Matt Rowe, chief security officer, Lloyds Banking Group “By supporting MITRE ATT&CK’s mission to remain open, independent, and community-driven, Lloyds Banking Group is helping empower defenders worldwide with access to shared knowledge of adversary behavior,” said Wen Masters, vice president of cyber technologies, MITRE. “We’re grateful for their commitment to keeping ATT&CK agile and supporting the global community in strengthening threat-informed defense.”
Reaching outer space has, in some ways, become more accessible than ever. And yet, a small satellite mission costs somewhere between $1 and 12 million. Between the price tag, the chances of equipment failures, and the challenges from increasing space traffic, launching satellites is still risky business. MITRE’s Space Experimentation Lab—or M-SEL—aims to reduce risk, increase speed of innovation, and offer an efficient and shared testing resource. We launched the core of M-SEL, a small LEO satellite, on March 14, partnering with Astro Digital, the company that designed and built the system. The lab in space will facilitate flexible, economical experimentation for radio-frequency communication missions. As a not-for-profit operator of federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), we work at the intersection of government and industry—catalyzing innovation while managing risk on both sides. "M-SEL brings huge potential and is a critical part of our forward-looking research efforts," says Chris Niessen, director of MITRE’s independent R&D program, which developed the capability. "Working with Astro Digital, we've successfully put a platform into space that enables the community to experiment prior to making large government investments." Astro Digital CEO Chris Biddy says, "We're excited to collaborate with MITRE to help reduce risk to government missions and offer a fluid platform to test out different concepts in orbit."
