7 University-Connected Cyber Ranges to Know Now
Universities are beginning to add cyber ranges to the facilities for teaching cyber security to students and professionals.
March 9, 2018
Practice. We're told it's what makes things perfect. When it comes to defending against massive, devastating cyberattacks, the tricky thing is finding an organization willing to expose their infrastructure to ruin while defenders practice their craft. That's where the cyber range comes in.
A cyber range is a controlled virtual environment where all of the worst fruits of the criminal hacker's labors can be visited upon an unsuspecting victim - and repelled, again and again, by white hats in training until their craft has been honed and their profession perfected.
That practice is critical for the growing number of cybersecurity students in university programs and the security professionals who increasingly lean on university resources to improve their strategies, tactics, and technology for defense.
The needs of those professionals and the companies that employ them are why universities are pushing forward with constructing cyber ranges. Those same needs are why many of the universities are partnering with security firms to build and manage the ranges. A look at some of the institutions involved in the trend shows that there is no geographical boundary to the rise. If there is any common thread it seems to be a location within driving distance of a major military or law enforcement facility, but even that is becoming less important as the number of cyber ranges increases.
Among the cyber ranges we list here are those that are in the building stage, those that are open but still developing their full capabilities, and those that are complete and fully in the business of educating cybersecurity professionals. The one thing this list can't be is complete: The value of cyber ranges is such that new facilities are being planned and announced on a monthly basis. Read on for more.
The Florida Cyber Range is a partnership between the University of West Florida Center for CyberSecurity and Metova CyberCENTS, owner and developer of the Cyber Operations Enhanced Network and Training Simulators (CENTS) used at the range. UWF, located in Pensacola, Fla., is the NSA/DHS National Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) Regional Resource Center for the Southeast. The range is debuted in October 2017 at ITEN WIRED with the CENTS in place for exercises and instruction.
The cyber range at the Augusta University Cyber Institute will allow for hands-on education in the University's cybersecurity program, as well as training for civilian, law enforcement, and military cybersecurity professionals. The Center has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence to share resources. Announced in January 2018, the Center and cyber range will occupy a 150,000 square foot facility adjacent to the university's Riverfront Campus.
In October 2017, Regent University launched its Cyber Range Training Center in partnership with Cyberbit Ltd. Located in Virginia Beach, Va., the Regent University facility offers multiple ranges on four separate platforms for individual and team training. According to university information, the cyber range is the largest Cyberbit Cyber Range in the world, and is built on Dell hyper-converged servers. The Regent University Cyber Range is in operation now.
Wayne State University's Advanced Technology Training Center is a physical extension of the Michigan Cyber Range. Run by the Merit network - the Michigan educational network - the cyber range features "Alphaville," a virtual training environment for cyber defense training, and the facilities of the Merit network linking multiple sites across the state. The Michigan Cyber Range features a cybersecurity education experience based upon the National Institute of Standards and Technology National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE).
Western Washington University is creating its cyber range at the WWU Center at Olympic College Poulsbo to be used not only for teaching students, but also for training law enforcement and business professionals in Washington. Announced in March 2017, a spokesman told Dark Reading that the range is still in the build-out phase as it approaches readiness for students and their activities. In a prepared statement, Erik Fretheim, program director for Western’s Computer Information Systems Security program, and director of the cyber range said, "As I discuss Cyber Range Poulsbo with my colleagues from other schools, they quickly recognize the advantages, and that we could create a shared resource that could do far more than what any of us could create individually."
Grand Canyon University has partnered with the non-profit Arizona Cyber Warfare Range (AZCWR) to put a second facility, the West Valley Range, on the GCU Innovation Campus in Phoenix. The AZCWR is unlike the other partner ranges on this list because it is not driven by a consultancy or security manufacturer; AZCWR is a community-based range that is free to members of the community. With that, it is constantly evolving and growing through contributions from community members, sponsors, and industry partners.
Florida's second academic cyber range is at the Florida Cyberhub, a facility housed at the University of South Florida (in Tampa) and shared among all the institutions in the Florida university system. The heart of the cyber range is Cyber Town -- a virtual town. According to the Cyberhub web site, "Welcome to Cybertown, a virtual city that is home to a public library, elementary school, electrical plant, manufacturing company, city hall, and single-family residence. Cybertown simulates an actual city in every relevant way, including having its own e-mail server, management network, and Internet provider."
Florida's second academic cyber range is at the Florida Cyberhub, a facility housed at the University of South Florida (in Tampa) and shared among all the institutions in the Florida university system. The heart of the cyber range is Cyber Town -- a virtual town. According to the Cyberhub web site, "Welcome to Cybertown, a virtual city that is home to a public library, elementary school, electrical plant, manufacturing company, city hall, and single-family residence. Cybertown simulates an actual city in every relevant way, including having its own e-mail server, management network, and Internet provider."
Practice. We're told it's what makes things perfect. When it comes to defending against massive, devastating cyberattacks, the tricky thing is finding an organization willing to expose their infrastructure to ruin while defenders practice their craft. That's where the cyber range comes in.
A cyber range is a controlled virtual environment where all of the worst fruits of the criminal hacker's labors can be visited upon an unsuspecting victim - and repelled, again and again, by white hats in training until their craft has been honed and their profession perfected.
That practice is critical for the growing number of cybersecurity students in university programs and the security professionals who increasingly lean on university resources to improve their strategies, tactics, and technology for defense.
The needs of those professionals and the companies that employ them are why universities are pushing forward with constructing cyber ranges. Those same needs are why many of the universities are partnering with security firms to build and manage the ranges. A look at some of the institutions involved in the trend shows that there is no geographical boundary to the rise. If there is any common thread it seems to be a location within driving distance of a major military or law enforcement facility, but even that is becoming less important as the number of cyber ranges increases.
Among the cyber ranges we list here are those that are in the building stage, those that are open but still developing their full capabilities, and those that are complete and fully in the business of educating cybersecurity professionals. The one thing this list can't be is complete: The value of cyber ranges is such that new facilities are being planned and announced on a monthly basis. Read on for more.
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