Cybersecurity workforce education and training is focus of new Purdue, Cyberbit partnership

Cyberbit's cyberattack simulation platform will be used to enhance the skills of students and career professionals

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and RA'ANANA, Israel — Pilots have flight simulators, soldiers have firing ranges, and now cybersecurity professionals have an opportunity to test their own skills in a cyber range -- a hyper-realistic, immersive simulated environment with the support of Purdue University's world-leading cybersecurity faculty and professionals.

Purdue University is partnering with global leader Cyberbit to launch a Cyberbit Range at the West Lafayette campus and to offer Cyberbit Range simulated training to businesses in the United States.

Cyberbit was spun out of leading Israeli defense technology company Elbit Systems to develop and bring to market a suite of cutting-edge cyberdefense technologies. It’s the world’s leading provider of cyber ranges for simulated cybersecurity training.

Given Purdue's reputation as having the top cybersecurity research and education programs in the world, we’re excited to deepen our partnership and forge an expansive, first-of-its-kind collaboration,” said Adi Dar, CEO of Cyberbit.

"Our joint efforts will improve learning outcomes, and we applaud Purdue’s disruptive approach to cybersecurity in academia," Dar said. "We will work with Purdue to help ensure its industry partners are learning, retaining what they learn and building the reflexes needed to remain prepared in the highly dynamic world of cybersecurity."

Cyberbit Range is a software platform that creates a virtual model of a company's IT network architecture, including servers, routers and applications. The platform can simulate attacks, such as denial-of-service or ransomware, and test abilities to respond. This allows security professionals to develop proactive defenses.

Through the collaborative partnership, Purdue and Cyberbit also will launch several initiatives:

• Purdue will enhance current cybersecurity offerings of its Cyber Technical Assistance Program via the Cyberbit Range.
• Purdue will expand research on the most effective lab-based, hands-on approaches to teach cybersecurity.
• Cyberbit will support the development of a joint Information Technology Security Lab at Purdue for the study of protocols used in traditional IT infrastructures and the defense against advanced attack vectors like ransomware, other malware, and network compromise.

Dan Hirleman, chief officer for corporate and global partnerships and professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue, said the partnership will help both students and mid-career professionals enhance their skills. 

"We strive to strike the ideal balance of theory and experiential learning for both our full-time, on-campus students and our adult learners already in the workforce. This partnership will enhance that," Hirleman said.

"The demand for experienced professionals with the mindset needed to integrate cybersecurity throughout the product design process and to respond to cyberattacks far exceeds the supply. Cyberbit’s expertise in simulated cybersecurity lab environments makes it a uniquely qualified partner to help us bridge this gap."

Mathew Trampski, director of partnerships and analytics, said that the best experience would be at Purdue's West Lafayette campus, where there are additional options for workforce training. "The Cyber Range can be used in a hybrid mode, with some people on campus and some people using it remotely. But the default training will be on campus for the in-person experience because we have a dedicated facility for this." 

About Purdue University 

Purdue University, a top public research institution, offers higher education at its highest proven value. Committed to affordability, the university has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels. Purdue is ranked 17th for public universities by U.S. News and World Report, and established the nation's first Department of Computer Science in 1962. Its cybersecurity program is similarly groundbreaking and is currently ranked the No. 2 cyber school. With 24 alumni who became astronauts, including the first and most recent person on the moon, Purdue is called the “Cradle of Astronauts.” Committed to pursuing scientific discoveries and engineered solutions, Purdue has streamlined pathways for faculty and student innovators who have a vision for moving the world forward. 

About Cyberbit 

Cyberbit is the world leading provider of cyber range training and simulation platforms, and the only provider of detection, response, automation and orchestration products across both IT and OT networks. Since founded in mid-2015, Cyberbit’s products were rapidly adopted by enterprises, governments, academic institutions and MSSPs around the world. Cyberbit is backed by Elbit Systems and Claridge, and has offices in Israel, the US, Europe, and Asia.  Follow Cyberbit on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@CYBERBITHQ).  For more information about Cyberbit visit www.cyberbit.com. For more information about the Cyberbit Range platform visit www.cyberbit.com/solutions/cyber-range  or email sales@cyberbit.com 

Writer: Steve Tally, 765-494-9809, steve@purdue.edu, @sciencewriter

Sources: Dan Hirleman, 765-494-9095, dhirleman@purdue.edu

Mathew Trampski, 765-494-1049, mtrampsk@purdue.edu 

Additional media contacts: Elizabeth Safran, Looking Glass Public Relations, 408-348-1214, e.liz@lookingglasspr.com

Sharon Rosenman, VP Marketing, Cyberbit, sharon.rosenman@cyberbit.com

Dana Tal-Noyman, manager corporate communications & digital, Elbit Systems, 972-77-298809, dana.noyman@elbitsystems.com