When it comes to if your organization will be in the crosshairs of a cybercriminal, unfortunately, it is not a matter of if, but when. Will your organization’s cybersecurity professionals and leadership be ready?
Fortunately, a real cyberattack or data breach does not have to be the first time your team puts their response plans and remediation skills to the test.
In fact, cyber ranges provide organizations and their security teams with a virtual and safe proving ground to apply the latest defensive skills, incident response techniques, and other best practices that are required to keep your organization secure and help keep each member at the top of their game and ahead of industry trends.
So, what are cyber range simulations, and what are some of the key resources you can use to increase your understanding of their value and benefit to your cybersecurity infrastructure?
What Are Cyber Range Simulations?
Like the testing ranges that are a staple in the military, cyber ranges provide organizations with highly realistic, controlled, and virtual training environments specifically designed to train cybersecurity professionals using hands-on learning scenarios. Each scenario can be custom-made or copied from an actual threat scenario; in either case, these simulations include interactive network devices, security tools, servers, and hosts specifically tuned for training purposes.
In other cases, cyber range simulations can be exact (or as close as required) replicas of your actual network environment, including computers, cell phones, VPNs, security systems, and more—allowing your team to test specific configurations, policy changes, new tools, or incident response plans.
This is especially beneficial because no organization wants to expose its actual critical infrastructure to the worst that cyberattackers have to offer. A cyber range is the next best way to practice threat resolution without risking your production environment.
Relevant Cyber Range Simulation Resources
Now that your organization understands more about what a cyber range can do for your cybersecurity and your preparations for the unexpected, you likely have more questions about just what these innovative platforms can do.
There are countless resources available, but here is a sample to help you get started:
1. MITRE Cyber Exercise Playbook and Adversary Emulation Plans
A natural disaster such as a flood, earthquake, tornado, or hurricane can often cause just as much business disruption as a well-tailored cyberattack or data breach.
Known for its comprehensive ATT&CK Matrix, MITRE has also developed a publicly available Cyber Exercise Playbook and Adversary Emulation Plans that your organization can use as starting points toward designing your own cyber range simulations. The Adversary Emulation Plans are updated regularly and include information and considerations for other business functions so your organization can be more fully tested.
2. The Cyberspace Solarium Commission
In 2019, in the wake of several damaging public and private sector cyberattacks, the U.S. federal government created the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. This bipartisan, intergovernmental body was tasked with “develop[ing] a consensus on a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace against cyber attacks of significant consequences.”
Covering a wide range of industries, this now-annual report lays out recommendations for the federal, state, and local governments to increase their resilience in the face of cyberthreats. However, any organization can learn from the three-part strategy that it outlines to create “layered cyber deterrence,” which can be tested as part of a cyber range simulation.
3. The SimSpace Cyber Force Platform
SimSpace is a provider of a premier on-premises or hosted cyber range that empowers organizations to create their own highly customizable attack simulations to comprehensively test their security tools, response plans, or individual team members’ performance.
SimSpace also offers product scoring, cyber risk assessments, candidate assessments, and other tools to help organizations enhance their overall security efficacy.
4. Dark Reading
A staple of any security professional’s scan of industry news and trends, Dark Reading offers a lot more than just context and interesting reading.
For example, the publication provides in-depth reviews and coverage of the latest advanced threats, tips on how to increase your organization’s vulnerability management acumen, and reviews of new tools and techniques. Each of these pieces can be put to the test in your own enterprise environment with a cyber range simulation.
Take the Next Step Toward Next-Level Cybersecurity
Whether you want to provide ongoing professional development for your security team or you’re looking for a way to take your organization’s cybersecurity defense posture to the next level, cyber range simulations are unmatched in their ability to deliver the practical training IT staff members need to stay ahead of today’s rapidly evolving cyber threats.
If your organization is ready to get hands-on and put your security controls to the test, the team at SimSpace would welcome the opportunity to get to know you.
Click here to get started with your own personalized demo.
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)