A growing number of government agencies across the U.S. are looking at ways to improve their cyber defenses, and the University of South Florida’s Florida Cybersecurity Center (Cyber Florida) has partnered with SimSpace to use a military-grade cyber range to train Florida’s one million state and local employees in cyber defense tactics.
“One of the big things the military values is rehearsing missions — practicing before you actually do them,” said SimSpace CEO and retired Air Force Col. William “Hutch” Hutchinson, “in a real-world situation, and this is something that obviously has applications in the private and commercial sectors as well.”
Hutchinson served as an F-15 fighter pilot and trained in Red Flag exercises, which were designed to improve combat readiness after the Vietnam War.
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“One of the lessons they learned was that if you survive your first 10 combat missions as a fighter pilot, your chances of success increase dramatically,” Hutchinson said. “So they created a training exercise that replicates those first 10 combat missions.”
Retired Air Force Colonel William “Hatch” Hutchinson was an F-15 fighter pilot. Now, as CEO of SimSpace, Hutchinson uses military-style training to help train civilians in the public and private sectors. (U.S. Air Force)
Hutchinson brought that training to U.S. Cyber Command, where he led a similar exercise called Cyber Flag.
“The goal was to provide commanders with insight into how we might respond in a future cyber conflict,” Hutchinson said.
Now, as CEO of SimSpace, Hutchinson uses military-style training to help train civilians in the public and private sectors.
“It’s a public-private partnership,” said Rep. Mike Walz, a Republican from Florida. “The military is struggling, and organizations like Cyber Florida are attracting people who drink Red Bull and hack all night. The middle tier is the military reservists, who are learning civilian skill sets, but who are often way ahead of the military in terms of new technology and the types of people they’re hiring.”
In addition to Florida, dozens of state legislatures have passed laws to bolster cyber defenses in recent years. Michigan was the first to launch a volunteer cybersecurity reserve force in 2013. Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, California and Maryland have all launched similar reserve programs. Other states, including Oklahoma and Arizona, have state cyber commands that protect state information systems and data.
“The threat is great. If we think about a future large-scale almost purely adversarial combat, perhaps the next pre-emptive strike, it won’t be like Pearl Harbor. It will be a cyberattack,” said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona. “Our adversaries — China, Iran, Russia and North Korea — are investing heavily in cyberattacks. We have to do a better job of building the workforce that defends this country.”
James Gerber, SimSpace CFO, said Cyber Florida is expanding beyond what many other states are doing by providing individualized training in an academically supported, hands-on environment.
“We can focus on preparing for the latest serious event that governors and mayors want to know we’re prepared for, and we’re providing them with the answers with confidence,” Garber said.
The University of South Florida’s Florida Cyber Security Center (Cyber Florida) has partnered with SimSpace to use a military-grade cyber shooting range to train one million state and local officials in cyber defense tactics. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Cyber Training Ground is an interactive simulation platform that recreates scenarios for various government departments, such as healthcare and energy, based on threats they may face.
“Ten years ago there were some viable options, but nothing like what we see today,” said Bruce Caulkins, cyber range director for Cyber Florida. “This will really help users understand what’s going on with their systems and networks and how to respond appropriately.”
State and federal governments are struggling with manpower shortages when it comes to cyber defense, and lawmakers say both the public and private sectors face obstacles in recruiting talent.
“There are a lot of openings. The challenge is getting people into what are considered STEM programs,” Kelly said. “We’ve been working on a bipartisan chip and science bill. We need to do more with that, especially in cyber and in Arizona.”
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., left, and ranking committee member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., discuss the National Defense Authorization Act during a House Rules Committee meeting on the U.S. Capitol, June 11, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
The federal government is also working to bolster its cyber defenses. The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act includes an effort to establish a civilian cybersecurity reserve to help government agencies respond to cyberattacks.
“We launched a civilian cybersecurity core in the last defense bill. [the] “It brings together the civilian technology world and the military national security and homeland security world and brings the two together,” Walz said.
Waltz said greater collaboration with the private sector was key to defending against adversaries like China.
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“You can’t have a perfect defense,” Waltz said. “You try to not let anything through in 1,000 at-bats. I think with China in particular, we need to take a mutually assured destruction approach, like we did with nuclear weapons a few years ago, where we can shut down China’s economy, we can shut down their critical infrastructure, so we’d rather not shut down ours.”
