Page 165 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2023

analyzing these massive amounts of data on the edge in real time. Consider this: if you don’t have a
complete dataset to begin with, the output of whatever you are trying to do with the data – in this case,
take action for cyber or maintenance purposes – will only be as beneficial or accurate as the input.

In one of its pilot programs, the U.S. Air Force used AI and ML algorithms with data collected from
condition-monitoring technology to predict when B-1 bombers will break. The Air Force estimated saving
$5 million in two years – just by reducing unscheduled maintenance on ten B-1 bombers.

However, success is fragmented because the DoD has not consistently adopted and tracked
implementation of predictive maintenance. In the survey of DoD operations, maintenance, and IT leaders,
84 percent said their organization must improve its ability to predict and prevent equipment failure.

Observability Builds Resiliency

Operational readiness hinges on real-time knowledge of what’s happening onboard critical defense
assets. But 60 percent of DoD leaders say that when an issue arises, their organization struggles to
determine if the root cause is a cyberattack – or an equipment maintenance issue.

This stems from a lack of full system observability – a full view of system performance. With onboard
observability, maintenance teams have the knowledge to evaluate operational readiness and differentiate
between cyber and maintenance issues. The best way to visualize the full system is to capture all data
communications on the operational technology (OT) and from every component on the platform. To
capture real-time onboard data from legacy OT, the DoD needs full-take data capture, which records
every frame down to the millisecond – across the entire fleet.

Armed with onboard observability, the DoD can confidently act on data-driven insights to optimize the
availability and resiliency of defense assets and boost MC rates across the services. On average, DoD
leaders expect a 35 percent increase in their department’s MC rate from the successful implementation
of predictive maintenance, according to recent research.

The growing complexity of technology and critical defense assets, paired with the increasing threats to
national security, requires an urgent reform of the DoD’s approach to maintenance. Predictive
maintenance offers solutions to some of the DoD’s greatest challenges: shifting to a proactive approach
to maintenance by predicting and preventing cyberattacks and critical failures.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2023 Edition 165
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