Vi·gnette
A COG mission vignette is a single tactical operation with clear, focused objectives that guide participants through a multi-step challenge. Each successful phase unlocks the next evolution, progressively increasing in complexity and scope to test both technical skill and decision-making. The final stages mirror real-world operations, shifting from technical execution to applied operator judgment consistent with advanced cyber operations.
Enter a high-stakes cyber battlefield where planning, leadership, and technical skill decide survival. Armed with only partial source code from a device targeting a critical infrastructure, you must uncover its secrets as the countdown ticks. Every move is a gamble. Analyze too slowly and time runs out. Act too rashly and disaster strikes. Only effective coordination and decisive action can cut through the fog of war and prevent catastrophe.
A supply chain attack aimed at military targets has succeeded beyond its designer's wildest dreams. It has also snared nearby civilian infrastructure, setting off a growing flood of callbacks. Each callback varies in quality. Some lead to systems rich in intelligence. Others must be cut loose fast to limit collateral damage and keep live accesses manageable. Teams triage on the fly, separating signal from noise before opportunities are missed. Success demands coordination and adherence to the principles of simplicity and economy of force to secure the intelligence that matters before it slips away.
A swarm of long range cruise missiles has launched from ships and submarines ahead of an amphibious assault. The only thing standing between the enemy and the forward defenses is a beacon planted months ago in one of the missiles. As the swarm closes in, the beacon goes active. You must detect, disrupt, and defeat the swarm before it reaches its targets. Success means every missile is neutralized or diverted. Failure means these coastal defenses fall silent when they are needed most.
Track a High Value Target through a maze of network traffic and coordinate a strike before they escape. Armed with preliminary intelligence, you must piece together a picture of a dynamic environment where the target and their agents hide among the civilian population. Each success raises the stakes, demanding sharper analysis, tighter coordination, and more careful tradecraft. Only deliberate decision making and creative analysis can find the target before their agents raise the alarm and the trail runs cold.
Immerse yourself in a shifting battlefield where adaptability and precision timing determine success. You begin with initial access to a MILSAT ground station and must disrupt the adversary's targeting cycle to protect a relief convoy moving through dangerous terrain. Beginning with shaping operations, prepare the battlefield before the final engagement to prevent disaster. Victory demands rapid decisions, precise timing, and meticulous execution to suppress enemy fires and safeguard allied forces.
In Development
The vignettes below are still being built and tested.
Prior indicators of compromise have resurfaced and a captured malware sample offers a rare shot at the adversary's own infrastructure. You are a Defensive Cyber Operations team tasked with turning the adversary’s own tools against them. Masquerading as one of their implants, you determine the scope of the intrusion and collect against them before they know they have been turned. Each phase demands deeper insight and harder collections as their operational security tightens. Success means a spoiling attack that denies the adversary their objective. Failure means a missed chance to take the fight to them.
An adversary has breached a counter UAS system and is still active inside it. You are the incident response team dropping into a live network, racing to confirm the adversary's presence, uncover their objective, and remediate every access path before they finish their mission and erase their tracks. Every action must be weighed against the risk of breaking the very system you are defending. Success means the intrusion is stopped and the mission software never goes down.
An adversary’s security system depends on power controls run by a civilian power company. You are a cyber mission force tasked with using access into the company to manipulate the controls and cut power the moment special forces initiate their assault. The systems are archaic in design, forcing you to unravel redundancy, find your opening, and deploy targeted effects without being caught. Success means the strike team moves freely into their objective. Failure risks the hostages they are trying to rescue.