The Immersive Grid – Michael Thomas Wilson

RENDERING IN COLLABORATION WITH JAKE SARGEANT AND BRETT MORRIS

The
Immersive
Grid

A world-scale network and cybersecurity data visualization enhanced through VR that provides an entirely new paradigm for securing the enterprise network. Created from real-world data and network topology from our petabyte-scale platform, the customer's network is brought to life through layers of actionable data and events.

Explore Inside Your Network

INTRODUCTION
We were tasked to concept a new way to envision a network's assets, events, and connections where nothing was hidden but brought to life. We sought to enhance analysts' instincts and intuition while they explore, threat hunt, and investigate events through total immersion giving them the ability to analyze and pivot through connections and related events rapidly.

RENDERING IN COLLABORATION WITH jAKE SARGEANT AND BRETT MORRIS

"VR is not just a simulation of reality but an expansion of the human sensorium."

DESIGNING A SPACIAL EXPERIENCE
The first prototypes of this experience were created for a standard monitor, but we quickly discovered that three-dimensional data is best experienced and comprehended in a native three-dimensional display. Starting with the Oculus Rift as our primary display device, we explore visual and spatial concepts that best represent our complex and highly-connected dataset while revealing new insights and clues.

Built on the idea of a city and the spatial reasoning we use to navigate it every day, we explored laying out the network like city blocks. Each asset is a building with its own data-driven visual vocabulary grouped by logical structure, geographically, CIDR ranges, subnets, etc. This forms a familiar "neighborhood" in the user's mind that they become familiar with over time. Each asset "building" is constructed by data points, including events, observations, and overall activity over time, giving it a unique look and behavior.

A new direction.
A new team.

ENGINEERING + DESIGN SIDE BY SIDE
We assembled a skunkworks team of designers, 3d artists, Unity engineers, and threat analysts that brought new ideas to cybersecurity and how we could perceive the network. We were fortunate to collaborate closely with our remarkable CTO and CEO, who constantly challenged and supported our research.

RENDERING IN COLLABORATION WITH jAKE SARGEANT AND BRETT MORRIS

DETAILED ANALYSIS IN A SPATIAL ENVIRONMENT
The city model visualization gives an analyst a global view of their network, its behavior, and current threats allowing them to see changes over time. We began work on what would become Asset Data Wall for detailed investigation and forensic study. By surrounding the analyst with an interface of actionable comprehensive threat and network data, they have a wealth of information at hand.

We provide the analyst detailed threat, asset, geo, and other data that allows them to explore and seamlessly pivot, following their instincts. These clues are gathered and typically forwarded to an analyst at a traditional station where certain use cases are better served. Our immersive environment increases focus, keeping an analyst in their zone with the intent of faster investigations and less dwell time on events. Below are early wireframes for Asset Data Wall exploring priority, hierarchy, and spatial reasoning.

URBAN PLANNING.
While working on a native solution in VR, we also explored a collaborative 3D view for traditional screens used by conventional analysts. This would further collaboration between teams of analysts, leveraging the advantages of their particular display time and immersion. The studies below focused on traversing CIDR ranges and subnets effectively.

THE IMMERSIVE GRID DEMO IN UNITY
After extensive research, design, and prototyping, we provided a proof of concept in Unity deployed to the Oculus Quest. This demo garnered significant press coverage and was selected by Verizon for its innovation booth at Mobile World Congress in Los Angeles.