Higher Ed Turning to Cyber Range Simulations for IT Skill-Building

Recent figures from the data hub CyberSeek indicate that there were about 600,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. last year, amid an increase in costly cyber attacks against public- and private-sector workplaces. To help meet employers’ demand for applicants with demonstrable cybersecurity skills, experts from the cyber range platform provider Cyberbit said during a Thursday webinar that universities and workforce training programs have been providing more hands-on training to students through cybersecurity simulation exercises, updating curricula and gearing their programs to specific workforce needs.

According to panelists Kristy Zyburo, global director of customer success at Cyberbit, and Susan Green, a senior national director at Cyberbit, the company has worked in recent years with over 20 universities, such as University of Maine at Augusta and Purdue University, to upgrade their curricula to include a “hands-on simulation-based program” powered by a cyber range. The panelists discussed how universities can integrate cyber-range training into their programming and how cyber-range lessons have helped graduates find jobs in cybersecurity more quickly.

Zyburo said one of the benefits of Cyberbit’s cyber ranges is that the lessons are more nimble to changes in technology. She said cybersecurity curricula must constantly change and update as tech evolves, offering cloud security as one example of an emerging specialization within the field as more organizations migrate to cloud storage.
“A lot of times when we have a new institution coming in, they have a set curriculum, and so we really want to work with them to see how best to integrate the content, and that’s an iterative process, because as we get new content and as they mature their programs, we want to keep looking at those syllabi and those curriculums to make sure that we have the right alignment there,” she said. “A couple years ago, we really didn’t see much [emphasis on cloud] at all … Lately, we’ve seen more development of those types of programs, which is really awesome.”

Zyburo said cyber-range exercises help students familiarize themselves with the types of attacks they would be protecting networks against as IT professionals later on, which helps them in the job interview process. She said that Cyberbit can help institutions integrate simulation modules to address any blind spots in their training.

“That’s where my team can really help a lot, is to say, ‘We know this is a lot and that it can be a little bit intimidating,’ but [we can] take it step by step and walk side by side with every instructor,” she said. “Maybe they don’t incorporate every single range module into their classroom but start with a course where we can give the students those hands-on experiences.”

According to Green, institutions are starting to take a closer look at their cybersecurity programming to make sure they are up-to-date in order to meet workforce demands. She said that’s where companies like Cyberbit can help.

“[We’re seeing more] folks really looking at their programs to see where the deficiencies are, so that they can get better and ultimately provide the type of student that’s going to be workforce-ready and promotable out of the gate,” she said. “We see retention numbers in programs and enrollment going up when these programs are done well.”