SimSpace Partners With ACSC to Power Cyber Range Exercises for Joint Training Program

BOSTON – May 5, 2022 – SimSpace, the leading cybersecurity risk management platform company, announced today that the company is partnering with the Advanced Cyber Security Center (ACSC), New England’s leading non-profit committed to advancing collaborative defense for its members, to provide advanced cyber range exercises for cyber defenders to test their skills and responses during live-fire events.

“We’re thrilled to provide a cyber range, powered by SimSpace, where we can put collaborative defense into action - giving our members the chance to practice incident response, test playbooks, and work on team development with peers from other organizations,” said Jim Dinneen, Chief Operating Officer of the ACSC. 

ACSC Executive Chairman WIlliam Guenther noted, “A select few organizations currently utilize cyber ranges for exercises.  We are glad our members are at the forefront of this growing trend using advanced cyber range technology for hands-on-keyboard incident response training and team development. Going forward, we anticipate cyber operators will expect these advanced development platforms where they can hone their skills, practice as a team, and ensure they have strong incident communication. The results from last year’s ACSC-SimSpace Cyber Range Training Program speak for themselves.”

In 2021, ACSC members conducted three incident response exercises on the high-fidelity SimSpace Cyber Range Platform. One exercise focused on individual organizations and was executed in parallel so ACSC member Blue Teams could compare notes on effective response strategies in a recap session. Two additional exercises were conducted with shared teams, where blue teamers from one organization collaborated with other members to learn from one another.

At the conclusion of the program, seven teams were able to learn about their effectiveness, make adjustments to their incident response plans, identify gaps in their response capabilities, and take notes on how they worked together and communicated as an effective response team. 

“As we continue to see major threats to our financial system, critical infrastructure, and healthcare organizations, last year’s results truly validate just how important these exercises are,” said William Hutchison, CEO and co-founder at SimSpace. “Seeing how team members not only communicate with each other but also best leverage the real technologies they’re using to fight off cyberattacks is critical to identifying the gaps in response procedures, information sharing, and bolstering the broader cybersecurity posture in the region.”

The leading organizations in the ACSC’s Cyber Range program include the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Liberty Mutual, Manulife/John Hancock, Munich Re, and Schneider Electric.  This year they will be joined by MIT Lincoln Lab, Harvard University, and MITRE.

The SimSpace Cyber Range platform is trusted by organizations worldwide, including the US Department of Defense Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE), the Department of Homeland Security, and five of the 15 largest financial institutions in North America. For more information about the SimSpace Cyber Range platform capabilities and to request a demo, visit: https://www.simspace.com/cyber-force-platform.

About SimSpace

SimSpace delivers the most comprehensive cybersecurity risk management platform, instilling confidence in an organization’s cybersecurity talent and technologies. With SimSpace, security teams, operational processes, and environments are continuously tested, readily available, and optimally tuned to defend against advanced adversaries. SimSpace: Stand with Confidence. For more information, visit: www.simspace.com.

All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

About the ACSC

The Advanced Cyber Security Center is a unique cybersecurity trusted network organization, focused on the New England region, led by member Chief Information Security Officers. Covered by robust participation and non-disclosure agreements, the ACSC is committed to strengthening member cybersecurity defenses and preparing the region's response to large-scale cyber threats. By bringing together the private and public sectors through joint simulations, exercises, and effective practice benchmarking research, the ACSC is uniquely positioned to ensure our members and the region are national leaders in "Collaborative Defense." 

The ACSC was established in 2012, as a 501(c)3 organization and was the model for Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs) when Presidential Executive Order 13691 was implemented in 2015. Currently, the ACSC has 27 members representing the financial services, healthcare, technology, and industrial industries, along with leading universities, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

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Media Contacts

Chris Michaels, SimSpace
chris.michaels@simspace.com
(805) 390-0819

Jim Dineen, Advanced Cyber Security Center
Jdinneen@acscenter.org
(617) 584-0581