Read Time: 10 minutes
Digital business drives speed and innovation, but it also expands the attack surface. Many security teams face growing complexity and limited resources, creating gaps that attackers can exploit. To build resilience and stay ahead of evolving threats, organizations are increasingly using cyber ranges as a practical way to prepare and strengthen their defenses.
What is a Cyber Range?
A cyber range is a simulation platform that replicates real IT and OT environments, allowing cybersecurity teams to safely practice skills such as penetration testing, incident response, and system hardening. It also helps your team develop leadership and decision-making abilities in crisis scenarios.
Promoting Digital Dexterity with Cyber Range
Digital dexterity is about cultivating a workforce that adapts quickly, collaborates effectively, and uses technology to advance business outcomes. Cyber ranges play a key role by offering immersive exercises that bring together IT staff, executives, and business units in one environment. This shared experience fosters trust and shifts the perception of cybersecurity from a purely technical task to a driver of business resilience.
Validating Skills and Competencies of Security Teams
Building resilience is not just about technology, it is also about people. Cyber ranges give organizations a safe space to measure current competencies and identify gaps that could hinder recovery during disruption. They also encourage proactive planning by:
- Assessing a team’s ability to respond to and recover from business disruptions under simulated pressure, while meeting recovery objectives.
- Developing emerging skills before they become urgent needs.
- Using frameworks such as NIST, NICE, and MITRE to benchmark progress and readiness.
Adoption Considerations
Cyber ranges can be adopted in different ways, from cost-effective SaaS subscriptions to in-house facilities. Some organizations also leverage university or government-run programs. While budgets may vary, it is essential to ensure that the simulated environment accurately reflects current production environments and validates the impact of new technologies.
Cyber ranges also allow organizations to simulate real-world attacks, such as DDoS, phishing, ransomware, and data breaches, and test how SOC, analysts, and CSIRT teams respond. Whether the goal is to validate resiliency planning, train incident response teams, or raise executive awareness, success depends on aligning investment with risk appetite and strategic priorities in a cost-effective way.
Crowe Center for Cybersecurity
As a cyber range provider, Crowe helps organizations strengthen resilience by combining cybersecurity expertise with business insight. Our team can evaluate how cyber ranges fit into your risk strategy, design programs that build critical skills, and guide adoption of cyber range technologies that match your resources and priorities.