Critical Start Unveils Cyber Range: A New Approach for Cybersecurity Training and Evaluation Curated from Thousands of Real-World Cyber Attacks

Critical Start, a leader in Managed Detection and Response (MDR) cybersecurity solutions and pioneer of Managed Cyber Risk Reduction (MCRR), today announced the launch of the Critical Start Cyber Range. This innovative free capability is not a demonstration environment, but rather part of the production Critical Start Cyber Operations Risk & Response™ (CORR) Platform designed to revolutionize cybersecurity training, testing, and evaluation in a safe, controlled environment.

Critical Start Cyber Range is a virtual environment that simulates real-world cyber threats and scenarios curated from thousands of real-world attacks identified and stopped by the Critical Start MDR security operations team. This capability allows organizations to train their cybersecurity teams on the MDR service user interface, test new security products as organization migrate to new cybersecurity vendors, and evaluate their overall cyber readiness without risking their actual infrastructure.

“In today‘s rapidly evolving threat landscape, organizations need a safe space to hone their cybersecurity skills and test their defenses,” said Chris Carlson, Chief Product Officer at Critical Start. “Our Cyber Range provides that environment, enabling companies to move beyond simple demonstrations to hands-on, realistic scenarios that truly prepare them for real-world cyber challenges.”

Also read: Building a Robust Cybersecurity Training Strategy in Today’s Rapidly Evolving Threat Landscape

Key features of the Critical Start Cyber Range include:

• Customizable Simulations: Users can create scenarios tailored to their specific industry and threat landscape, including simulated alerts scenarios such as credential attacks, adversary-in-the-middle, ransomware, fileless attacks and more from various security products.
• Product Emulation: The platform supports emulation of alerts from of a wide range of security products, with the vendor specific key/value pairs in alert data, allowing users to train on tools they use in their environments.
• MITRE ATT&CK® Matrix Integration: Alerts and scenarios are mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix framework, providing a comprehensive view of threat tactics and techniques.
• Flexible Training Options: Supports various use cases including MDR Proof of Value (POV), new customer onboarding, security tool migrations, and cybersecurity team training.
• Workflow Process Preparation: Cyber Range supports how customer analysts would create the workflow and train against their defined processes for a production MDR deploying in the same user interface but in a safe non-production environment. This includes functions like creating public and private comments in alerts, escalation to other users or back to the simulated Critical Start Risk & Security Operations Center (RSOC), executing investigation data retrieval commands and integrated response actions, and closing alerts.

The Critical Start Cyber Range offers significant benefits to organizations of all sizes:

• Enhanced Training: Security teams can gain hands-on experience of the Critical Start MDR Service in a realistic non-production environment, improving their skills and response times.
• Risk-Free Testing: Organizations considering migrating or adding new security products and configurations can thoroughly evaluate those new tools without impacting production environments.
• Accelerated Onboarding: New customers of the Critical Start MDR services and their team members can quickly get up to speed on security tools and processes.
• Technical Validation before Purchasing: Cyber Range enables more effective demonstrations and proofs of value, enabling organizations evaluating MDR service providers to experience the full capabilities and value of the Critical Start MDR service before they purchase.

“The Cyber Range is a game-changer for cybersecurity training and evaluation,” added Carlson. “It allows organizations to truly understand their cybersecurity capabilities and continuously improve their defenses against ever-evolving threats.”