Cloud Range and Cyviz announced on Tuesday their initiative to enhance cybersecurity training within higher education institutions as partners for IBM’s Cyber Campus offering. Working together to deliver IBM’s Cyber Campus, Cloud Range, Cyviz, and IBM equip students with practical, hands-on experiential learning through an immersive, live-fire simulation platform, bridging the gap between academic knowledge and real-world job experience.
A dangerous shortage of cybersecurity workers in the United States puts digital privacy and the nation’s infrastructure at risk. ISC2’s 2024 Cybersecurity Workforce Study indicates a global cybersecurity workforce gap of 4.8 million, with a North American gap of 543,000, highlighting a stagnant workforce and a growing skills gap. This demand far outpaces supply, leaving 70 percent of businesses with open cybersecurity positions.
With cybersecurity occupations projected to grow by 35 percent compared to 4 percent in other industries, the need for comprehensive, hands-on training has never been more critical. With IBM Cyber Campus, educational institutions can expand their investments in cybersecurity education and offer coursework that helps build the new cyber workforce with practical, hands-on experience.
“IBM is committed to helping build cybersecurity hands-on experience when it comes to job readiness and addressing real-world challenges,” said Rob Koehler, Cyber Campus Founder and Offering Leader, IBM Consulting. “The IBM Cyber Campus is an extensive partner ecosystem consisting of the same partners IBM uses in designing and delivering the IBM X-Force Cyber Range experiences. We aim to help develop the cyber workforce necessary to tackle the critical shortage of cybersecurity professionals through our coalition with partners, including Cloud Range and Cyviz, and collaboration among post-secondary educational institutions, community colleges, and universities.”
“As a pioneering adopter in the Cyber Campus initiative, we reimagined how to train our students by designing the curriculum backward—starting with the real-world demands of industries and working alongside experts from IBM, Cloud Range, and Cyviz. This collaborative effort ensures that our students are ready for the workforce and equipped with the precise experiences needed to thrive in their careers right from day one,” said Daniel Fogarty, former Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Fulton Montgomery Community College and current Assistant Vice President, SUNY Empire State University.
Providing a risk-free, hands-on space to practice responding to real-world cyber threats, the IBM Cyber Campus, powered by Cloud Range and Cyviz, provides users across the U.S. with unparalleled access to advanced simulations and tools through a cutting-edge SaaS platform featuring specialized labs, live-fire exercises, and skill packs purpose-built for educational institutions.
In addition, building a realistic Security Operations Center (SOC) environment provides individuals and teams an invaluable opportunity to develop, practice, and refine crucial human skills alongside technical expertise for effective cybersecurity operations. The flexibility of the IBM Cyber Campus experience ensures educational institutions can integrate comprehensive cybersecurity training into their curriculum without the need for extensive travel or infrastructure modifications.
“Our partnership and collaboration with IBM and Cyviz signifies a pivotal advancement in cybersecurity education,” said Debbie Gordon, CEO and Founder of Cloud Range. “By integrating our simulation technology into IBM’s Cyber Campus and enhancing it with Cyviz’s immersive collaboration tools, we provide students with invaluable, real-world, hands-on experience, preparing them to meet the evolving challenges of the cybersecurity landscape and job market.”
“We’re excited about our partnership with IBM and Cloud Range to deliver enhanced training and simulation capabilities through our advanced visual collaboration technology,” said Espen Gylvik, CEO of Cyviz. “By enabling immersive, high-performance learning environments, we’re helping institutions and organizations prepare the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.”
