Cyberbit and Purdue Partner to Advance Cybersecurity Workforce Education

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

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and RA’ANANA, Israel — August 21, 2019 – Cyberbit and Purdue today announced they are entering into a partnership to enhance cybersecurity workforce education and training. To commence the partnership, Purdue University will launch a Cyberbit Range, a hyper-realistic, simulated training platform for cybersecurity practitioners. Businesses in the United States now have the opportunity to work with Purdue’s world-leading cybersecurity faculty and professionals to assess and enhance cybersecurity skills across their workforce and bolster organizational preparedness for cyberattacks.

“Pilots have flight simulators, soldiers have firing ranges, now Purdue University has a cyber range — a state-of-the-art cyberattack simulator,” said Adi Dar, CEO of Cyberbit. “We’re excited to work with Purdue’s world class team to 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  was spun out of leading Israeli defense technology company, Elbit Systems to develop and bring to market a suite of cutting edge cyber defense technologies. It is the world’s leading provider of cyber ranges for simulated cybersecurity training. “Our joint efforts will improve learning outcomes, and we applaud Purdue’s disruptive approach to cybersecurity in academia,” said Dar.

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. “Given Purdue’s reputation as having the top cybersecurity research and education programs in the world, we are excited to forge ahead on a first-of-its-kind collaboration,” Dar continued.

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

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 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, 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 #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 or email sales@cyberbit.com

 

Cyberbit 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

 

Purdue Media Contacts:

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

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

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