The non-profit national security advisory firm MITRE is inviting cyber engineers and other industry professionals to test the capabilities of D3FEND 1.0, its newly launched cybersecurity ontology providing ways to create a common language and defense concepts in the cyber domain.

The ontology has tripled its semantic graph size since the release of D3FEND’s beta version in June 2021, MITRE said Thursday. It added that the advance in D3FEND’s development resulted from contributions from government and industry, including security and detection experts.

What Are D3FEND’s Features?

The ontology’s features include a cyber attack-defense tool enabling users to fully mobilize the framework into action on specific cybersecurity situations and privately share the defensive measures online. 

D3FEND offers its users an expanded lineup of defense tactics and risk classifications opening ways for access control and source-code hardening for cybersecurity purposes. In addition, MITRE provided content update transparency in the framework to sustain its continuing system adaptation as D3FEND evolves.

Wen Masters, MITRE vice president for cyber technologies, said the organization’s goal in the ontology is to provide an adaptable security resource across wide-ranging cyber domains. “It’s more than just a tool—it’s a pathway to smarter, more nuanced defensive strategies,” she said.

The ontology’s development was funded by the National Security Agency, the Cyber Warfare Directorate in the U.S. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the U.S. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.