User Review
( votes)A cyber range is an irreplaceable tool that allows cybersecurity professionals to improve their response capabilities as well as their ability to identify risks.
Cloud Cyber Range
Cloud Cyber Range- Cyber ranges — that is, virtual environments — are an ideal tool for testing and validating the cybersecurity posture of systems and software as well as for training cyber defenders with the latest knowledge on cybersecurity tactics. Ranges help defenders improve their cybersecurity skills with real-time practice on a safe version of their own critical IT systems. They help organizations select, integrate, and test new products and approaches without disrupting operations. For the past two years, I’ve been working on a cyber-range capability for increased cyber resiliency and decreased operational risk.
Technical Challenges of Cyber-Range Implementation
The first challenge I encountered while planning for the architecture of a physical range is the overwhelming investment cost in hardware and infrastructure. The computing power required for hosting a full suite of operating systems, network, and appliances typically translates to racks full of hardware equipment in order to support the types of testing and training environment necessary for enterprise-level missions.
Another challenge is the speed to sanitize the range in-between different scenarios. This typically requires long cycle times and lengthy delays in-between scenarios, especially when tearing down and rebuilding the same infrastructure.
Finally, there are challenges when it comes to the speed and the agility to design and deploy specific environments for different customer missions. A significant amount of time can be spent to reconfigure an environment to satisfy a specific, different mission.
I began to explore ways to improve efficiency and agility as well as to save costs by looking at new technology and methodology that can be applied to developing cyber ranges.
Cyber Ranges Going to the Cloud
The world is going to the cloud, and so can cyber ranges. The cloud provides a flexible, reconfigurable, and elastic computing infrastructure at affordable prices. Cloud-based ranges provide a safe, controlled, and isolated environment and can scale in size based on mission scenarios. You pay as you go based on the capacity you need.
