Department of War (DoW) Issues Success Memo for WWT's Joint Cyber Hunt Kit (JCHK) Prototype
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Across today's cyber battlespace, the Cyber Mission Force faces a tempo and threat landscape unlike anything previously experienced.
Cyber Protection Teams (CPTs) are expected to deploy rapidly, operate in unfamiliar networks, illuminate sophisticated adversary activity, and deliver effects that protect joint, coalition and partner-nation environments. To execute missions effectively, CPTs need tools that deliver speed, flexibility, and capabilities purpose-built for real-world operations.
These are the operational challenges WWT set out to solve with the Joint Cyber Hunt Kit prototype, an effort that has been formally recognized by the Department of War's (DoW) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) with a Success Memo. The memo, issued November 26, confirms that WWT met all required technical milestones and validated the prototype's relevance to real mission execution.
More importantly, it affirms a path toward equipping cyber operators with the next generation of deployable hunt capabilities.
Purpose built for DoW and USCYBERCOM hunt missions
When DIU selected WWT for the JCHK prototype, the requirement was tightly aligned to the operational demand across the Cyber Mission Force. The focus was to accelerate how CPTs deploy, execute, and sustain hunt missions across service, joint and partner environments.
WWT built the design around mission realities. CPTs must be able to deploy quickly into unfamiliar terrain, operate in contested or low connectivity environments, identify adversary activity that blends into legitimate behavior, and maintain analytic depth as mission tempo increases.
To account for these challenges, WWT drew on the capabilities of its Advanced Technology Center (ATC), a secure environment where engineers can model operational networks, test integrated toolchains and validate designs against real-world mission constraints.
When kits are needed in the field, they can be deployed at speed and scale through WWT's North American Integration Center, seamlessly connecting to sensitive networks when they arrive on site.
These capabilities, along with the ability to tap into a broad ecosystem of leading technology partners and innovative, emerging companies, resulted in an AI-enabled platform that strengthens readiness and shortens the time to actionable insight.
AI that amplifies operator impact
The JCHK prototype integrates AI capabilities that directly support USCYBERCOM's push for improved automation and faster decision cycles during time-sensitive operations. These capabilities are aligned to operator workflows and the specific analytic challenges they encounter in the field.
The platform's automation and enrichment features help CPTs accelerate detection and triage, remove time-consuming repetitive analytic tasks, correlate diverse data sources to reveal adversary behavior more quickly, and adjust to unfamiliar digital terrain during partner-nation or forward-deployed missions.
These capabilities reduce cognitive burden and improve decision speed so operators can focus on adversary pursuit. Further, they illustrate how AI can be used as an operational advantage, grounded in the real work of the Cyber Mission Force.
Designed for operational speed, modularity and mission flexibility
The JCHK design reflects the principles of WWT's Unified Cyber Platform (UCP) centered on adaptability, ease of configuration and support for rapid mission execution, according to Kyle Tsao, Director of WWT's Joint Cyber Solutions Team and founder of WWT's UCP.
"Our design ensures CPTs can configure the JCHK to meet mission requirements in any operating environment," Tsao said. "Modularity and flexibility were essential for supporting the Cyber Mission Force's global operations. The architecture allows operators to tailor sensors, tools and analytics to the mission at hand, whether deploying to a partner network, supporting service cyber components or contributing to broader campaigns directed by USCYBERCOM."
A capability advancement for the entire Cyber Mission Force
The DIU Success Memo represents more than the successful conclusion of a prototype. It marks a meaningful step forward for CPTs and other operational cyber elements across the DoW.
WWT's work on the JCHK demonstrates how mission-focused engineering and an advanced technology ecosystem can strengthen the Cyber Mission Force's ability to deploy and execute cyber missions, expand analytic depth across distributed teams, operate with greater speed against evolving adversary behaviors, and support joint and coalition operations with a consistent capability.
It highlights what's possible when mission experience, technical depth and operator needs are placed at the center of capability development.
Continuing the mission: Supporting cyber operators across DoW
WWT remains committed to advancing capabilities that support USCYBERCOM, service cyber components and the broader DoW cyber enterprise.
The JCHK prototype is one milestone in a larger effort to deliver scalable, innovative, and mission-aligned solutions built for the operational demands of today and tomorrow.
As adversary tradecraft evolves, so must the platforms that enable our cyber defenders. WWT is proud to support the operators who execute these missions and to help build the capabilities that will shape the future of cyber operations across the DoW.