THE DIGITAL TWIN OF THE CYBER-STUDY ENTERPRISE: NEW METHODS FOR SIMULATING THE MOST COMPLEX ATTACKS

Victoria A. Zakharova
MAI, Moscow, Russia, zakharova062002@mail.ru

Anastasia Y. Kudryashova
MTUCI, Moscow, Russia, a.i.kudriashova@mtuci.ru

DOI: 10.36724/2664-066X-2025-11-5-18-27

SYNCHROINFO JOURNAL. Volume 11, Number 5 (2025). P. 18-27.

Abstract

The study investigates novel methods for modeling complex cyberattacks based on enterprise “digital twin” technology. The aim is to analyze the concept of a “digital twin” as a tool for cyber exercises, compare it with tradition-al cyber ranges, identify current cybersecurity challenges arising from the use of digital twins, and propose methods for addressing them. The research employs comparative analysis, problem systematization, and the design of architecture-oriented solutions based on technologies such as blockchain, swarm intelligence, adversarial attack defense methods, and approaches to verifiable AI explainability. Key advantages of digital twins over traditional cyber ranges have been identified, including dynamic synchronization, modeling accuracy, and predictive capabilities. Fundamental challenges have been systematized, encompassing issues of data reliability, integration, and telemetry processing, as well as new threat classes such as ensuring cyber resilience in “swarms” of interconnected digital twins and securing embedded artificial intelligence. To address these challenges, a comprehensive approach has been proposed, involving decentralized trust systems, collective defense mechanisms, multi-layered AI protection, and verifiable explainability systems. The proposed methods and architectural solutions enable a shift from reactive to proactive cybersecurity strategies, facilitate the creation of self-organizing defense systems, enhance trust in autonomous AI decisions, and lay the foundation for legally compliant auditing in critical infra-structures. The novelty of the work lies in the identification and in-depth analysis of new problem classes related to digital twin ecosystems (“swarms”) and the security of integrated AI, as well as in the proposal of comprehensive, technology-driven solutions, which defines the direction for the development of next-generation cybersecurity systems.

Keywords:  digital twin; cybersecurity; cyber studies; attack modeling; cyberpolygon

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