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Cyber Range Buyers Guide for Higher Education Select the right platform to prepare students for successful cybersecurity careers www.cyberbit.com | [email protected]
Cyber Range Buyers Guide for Higher EducationSelect the right platform to prepare students for successful cybersecurity careerswww.cyberbit.com | [email protected]
Table Of Contents
Introduction 3
What Is a Cyber Range? 4
Hands-On Cybersecurity Courses 5
Cyber Range Checklist 6
Architecture 8
Essential Training Models 9
Create Tailored Courses for Diverse Audiences 10
Case Study: Regent University 11
Facility & Staff Checklist 12
Build Your Cybersecurity Degree Programs with Cyberbit Range 13
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IntroductionCybersecurity is one of the fastest growing, knowledge-rich professions. ISACA, a non-profit information security advocacy group, predicts there will be a global shortage of two million cyber security professionals by 2019. The inevitable corollary to rising demand is rising salaries. But institutes of higher education are not moving fast enough to seize this new opportunity. They must move now to prepare the next generation of cyber defense professionals who will lead this important emerging industry. Whether you offer a dedicated cybersecurity degree program or majors of concentration as part of general computer science or information systems degrees, the single factor that will set your graduates above the rest is hands-on experience. Employers across the board seek candidates with real experience, but this demand is tenfold in cybersecurity. Theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient and should be paired with real experience that will allow students to hone their skills and be ready to take on the challenge and responsibility of a cybersecurity professional at a leading organization. Universities are adopting the hands-on training approach and making it an integral part of degree programs.
Establishing your own on-campus cyber range will allow you to offer a wide variety of real-life learning experiences to accompany all cybersecurity courses in the curriculum. The success of your cyber range depends on the underlying technology. This Cyber Range Buyers Guide for Higher Education covers the most important technical requirements for selecting a training and simulation platform to prepare your students to become cybersecurity leaders.
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What is a Cyber Range?A cyber range is a simulation platform for training information security professionals and preparing them for the challenging high-pressure situations they will face throughout their careers. A cyber range is to cybersecurity students what a laboratory is to life science students, and they should be spending a good portion of their time in the range. The more realistic the simulation experience, the better a cyber range prepares students to deal with cyberattack incidents they will encounter after graduation. Simulated cyber range training is considered to be the most advanced form of cybersecurity training available today, taking its approach from combat flight simulators. A cyber range will make your institution stand out among other colleges and universities, by ensuring that by the time they graduate your students will have hundreds of hours of hands-on cybersecurity training experience.
An effective cyber range training platform allows you to:
Attract New Students: Cybersecurity attracts bright, curious students who seek a challenging and meaningful educational experience that will provide real value in their future careers. A cyber range with advanced simulation capabilities and degree programs that include plenty of challenging, up-to-date range practice will attract technology savvy students who have high expectations. Your cyber range experience should be as exciting and immersive as the multi-player video games many of them grew up on.
Increase Employer Demand for Graduates:Employers value experience. Your graduates will stand out head and shoulders above their peers from other universities because of the vast amount of hands-on experience they gain during their degree. The right cyber range will prepare your students to defend against a wide variety of emerging cyber-attacks, on any type of network and using the most popular, in-demand security tools.
Grow Traditional, Online and Executive Cybersecurity Programs:Use your cyber range to grow enrollment in all your degree programs. All kinds of students seek to advance their skills and careers. If you select a cyber range platform that can also be used for distance learning, it can be incorporated into online degree programs in addition to traditional on-campus courses of study.
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Hands-On Cybersecurity CoursesBoth students and employers value hands-on experience, so your degree programs should be built to maximize students’ time in your cyber range. Ideally, undergraduate students should be splitting their time equally between classroom lectures and cyber range exercises. Below are a few examples of cyber range labs that can be included in parallel to traditional coursework:
Course Weekly Hours
(RANGE) Networks, Tools & ThreatsHands-on experience with several large network environments and an array of leading cybersecurity tools. Face common threats and perform basic operational methodologies
12
(RANGE) Cybersecurity ToolkitLearn to operate cybersecurity tools and platforms, including; Firewalls, IDS/IPS, endpoint security, SIEM
2
(RANGE) Cyber Attack ScenariosExperience operating in several advance attack scenarios: SQL injection, Apache shutdown, web defacement
2
(RANGE) Advanced ThreatsHands-on experience facing the most malicious advanced threat scenarios: Trojan Data leakage, JS Trojan upload, Java Sendmail, DDoS SYN Flood, DB dump, Trojan privilege escalation
4
(RANGE) Advanced Cybersecurity SkillsDevelop and perfect advanced cyber skills such as; reverse engineering, critical infrastructures security [SCADA], digital forensics and cyber breach investigation
Simulation scenarios: Killer TrojanWindows management instrumentation worm RansomwareSCADADDoS DNS amplificationWPAD man-in-the-middleSCADA – Factory overloadSCADA – Factory shutdownSCADA – Factory silent attack
3
(RANGE) Incident ResponseSimulate operating breaches according to incident response playbooks
3
(RANGE) Capstone ProjectStudent teams build a secure computer systems and classmates probe it to discover vulnerabilities
open
For complete degree coursework download Academic Degrees with Hands-On Range Labs
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Cyber Range Checklist The success of your cyber range is built on technology. When evaluating platforms consider thefollowing capabilities:
Off-the-Shelf Content Just as a game console is useless without games, a cyber range platform should include, in addition to the simulation technology, a sufficient amount of content to support your curriculum. A library of cyberattack scenarios and courses in increasing levels of difficulty, will help you get started quickly, without the need for time-consuming curriculum development or programmers to code the scenarios.
Content Creation ToolsThe cybersecurity landscape changes quickly. A user-friendly scenario builder will allow faculty to easily create new attack scenarios to challenge students without the need to write code.
In-depth Scenario Documentation Clear and concise documentation for each scenario contributes to student success and reduces frustration. Thorough documentation also supports the onboarding of new instructors as your cybersecurity enrollment grows.
Instructor Feedback To be a truly valuable learning technology your cyber range should include session debriefing with a full video of the simulation session, real-time instructor commenting, multi-phase goal setting, and automated personal and team scoring for all relevant skills.
Support for IT and OT Environments Protecting critical infrastructure Operational Technology (OT) networks is a growing need when preparing your students for professional opportunities in sectors like finance, government and critical infrastructure. Your cyber range platform should prepare students for a variety of network environments and attack types including both IT and ICS/SCADA environments.
On-Premise or Cloud DeploymentThe range platform should be flexible and available as both on-premise and cloud-based deployments. If you opt for cloud-based, the vendor should offer end-to-end management and support.
Easy Deployment and Implementation Avoid frustration and delays by getting a clear understanding of what the deployment process involves in terms of personnel, time and other resources.
Scalable and Customizable Range Platform Select a cyber simulation and training technology that allows you to easily scale and customize scenarios as enrollment grows.
Automatic Scenario Emulator The cyber range should be able to automatically emulate benign traffic as well as complex attack sequences over the network. This allows any computer science or information systems faculty to run simulation sessions, without needing to hire expensive external instructor. An automatic scenario emulator allows recurrent scenario emulation which can be measured and compared to in a reliable way.
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ArchitectureMost cyber training solutions involve a group of defenders (blue team), facing either a computer managed attack scenario or a human attackers team (red team). The simulation management application creates a simulated network with various security capabilities (and vulnerabilities) and a scenario emulator which will be responsible for creating both valid and malicious network streams. The threat generator creates various attack scenarios and the training operators follow the scenario from their own dashboard to monitor the training and in some cases, provide tips and assistance.
A college or university needs the ability to set up a training network that includes a variety of popular security tools from multiple vendors. The range must also be customizable to mirror any network and incorporate the security tools and typical traffic for a variety of network environments.
Customizable Network, Traffic and ThreatsSimulated Networks
Blue Team Red Team(optional)Traffic
GeneratorTraffic
Generator
COMPLETE NETWORK SIMULATION
Your cyber range should be able to simulate a variety of SOC (security operation center) capabilities and threat vectors, to create a training environment that will prepare students to defend against any threat scenario.
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Essential Training ModelsYour training simulation platform should provide the necessary content and features to train your cybersecurity, computer science and information systems students. It should provide a curriculum that trains in offensive and defensive techniques, and be scalable for individuals or teams.
Blue TeamStudents of any level learn to detect, prevent and respond to cyber incidents, ensuring that when they face “the real thing” , they are well prepared and practiced.
Red Team Teach students to think like the enemy. Red team training allows students to develop skills as penetration testers and security architects and gives them the hands-on training they need to perform these roles exceptionally.
Personalized LearningThe training platform should be flexible and scalable enough to cater to even the most tailored needs. Individual training gives every student a custom-tailored learning experience that strengthens their specific weaknesses and creates a personalized cyber range training road map.
AssessmentYour cyber range can also be used to administer exams, skill check outs and extra credit challenges. Make sure the platform you choose includes automatic scoring so it can be used for assessments and exams.
Capture the Flag Competitions
A Capture the Flag module allows you to add a dimension of gamification and competition to coursework, keeping simulations exciting and fresh. Moreover, a proper Capture the Flag module can be used to promote your unique cybersecurity degree programs and drum up interest with hackathon event and inter-university cyber challenges.
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Create Tailored Degrees for Diverse Audiences Academic Cybersecurity Degrees The world’s most effective military cybersecurity training programs incorporate hands-on simulation training at every stage. We believe this principle should be adhered to as closely as possible in the academic setting as well. Pairing classroom coursework with targeted exercises in a cyber range training facility deepens learning and gives students valuable experience that employers seek. Cybersecurity is a battlefield where fierce opponents are faced every day. Leaders must bring both academic learning and a wealth of hands-on experience grappling with real cyber threats and breaches.
Executive Education and Professional DevelopmentOffer professional development programs for all levels of management that equip mid-career executives with the latest cybersecurity tools and best practices to meet the unique demands of today’s fast-paced enterprise security challenges. The cyber range will allow participants to gain real-world experience and acquire skills that are immediately applicable and provide lasting impact to their organization.
Corporate Team and Individual Training Courses A truly customizable platform is one that’s easy to scale and customize. Create new revenue streams and deepen relationships with industry by offering cybersecurity simulation training to enterprises. Your cyber range is the perfect tool for delivering corporate cybersecurity trainings to professional security operations teams together as a unit or even one professional at a time using hyper-realistic scenarios.
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Case Study: Regent University Institute of Cybersecurity Cyber Range (Virginia) Standalone Cyber Range at Regent University The range serves students as well as local enterprises and public sector organizations Opened in October, 2017
“This facility will allow Regent to offer complex, system-level training at the highest level, and graduates will emerge with hands-on testing and training that is unmatched in higher education.
We’ve found the Cyberbit Range platform to deliver the highest level of training experience that will enable us to achieve our goals, coupled with the unparalleled support of the Cyberbit team.”
Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño,Executive Vice-President forAcademic Affairs, Regent University
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Facility & Staff ChecklistIn addition to the range platform itself, consider the following facility and staff requirements:
Classroom(s)Each cyber range classroom can accommodate 5-20 students and 1 instructor. Additional classrooms can be added as enrollment grows.
ServersWill you need to supply servers or will they be supplied by range vendor?
Student Workstations Each student needs a standard workstation with 2 screens.
Training InstructorsOne instructor is needed per class session. Plan for 1.5-2 instructors per cyber range classroom to allow for optimal scheduling. A range classroom can run around the clock, so consider splitting each classroom into two instructor shifts to maximize simulation capacity. The cyber range vendor should train your instructors to ensure optimal performance.
Logistics Assign a department staff member to handle the scheduling of cyber range labs and all that they entail; scheduling instructor and notifying students.
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Build Your Cybersecurity Degree Programs with Cyberbit Range Cyberbit Range is a Training and Simulation Platform used by higher education institutions to drive innovative cybersecurity degree programs. The platform is set up within several days and comes with a ready-to-use curriculum that includes a rich library of scenarios. New courses are constantly developed by our experts, simulating the most recent and up to date cyberattacks. The simulation experience is immersive and leaves a powerful impression on everyone who tries it and provides clear metrics to show how students improve skills over time.
We understand academic institutions and offer diverse pricing models that support your growing curricula and enrollment. Your dedicated Cyberbit account manager wants your cyber range to be a success and will be right by your side offering support, guidance and real solutions.
Cyberbit Range is the most deployed cyber range platform in the world. Drawing on deep knowledge gained developing simulation training technology for fighter jet pilots, the Range is an effective platform to train cyber defenders for the technically complex, high pressure jobs they will be expected to perform. As of the end of 2017, the company’s solution is already in operation around the globe and certifying thousands of cybersecurity professionals. Among them: Regent University in Virginia, Metropolitan State University in Minnesota, The Baltimore Cyber Range in Maryland; RUAG in Switzerland, IABG in Germany; ISE Systems in Paris; Ni Cybersecurity in Tokyo, Japan; and ST Electronics in Singapore.
Cyberbit provides a consolidated detection and response platform that protects an organization’s entire attack surface across IT, OT and IoT networks. Cyberbit products have been forged in the toughest environments on the globe and include: behavioral threat detection, incident response automation and orchestration, ICS/SCADA security, and the world’s leading cyber range. Since founded in mid-2015 Cyberbit’s products were rapidly adopted by enterprises, governments, academic institutions and MSSPs around the world. Cyberbit is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems (NASDAQ: ESLT) and has offices in Israel, the US, Europe, and Asia.
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