PROVIDENCE – A new “cyber range” classroom recently concluded construction at Rhode Island College’s Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies.
The range uses IBM technology and can accommodate 24 users at a time, with four workstations and six computers per station. It also features a 24-foot-wide video wall at the front of the classroom; three smaller video displays on the other walls; and microphones, speakers and color-changing LED lights on the ceiling.
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The facility is just the third IBM-powered academic cyber range in the U.S., said institute Director Douglas S. Alexander.
Using this technology and Cloud Range Cyber software, the range allows students to run through 40 different cyberattack simulations, including malware attacks, phishing attempts and ransomware.
The classroom will recreate “the stress-filled, pressured environment you’d feel when you’re defending your network against an attack,” Alexander said in a statement. “During an attack, time is of the essence. You’ve got to get it right. And you’ve got to keep your cool.”
Red lighting in the room, for instance, could signify to students that an attack is occurring, requiring their immediate action.
“They’re asking themselves, ‘Where did the attack come from?,’ ” Alexander said. “ ‘How did the attackers get in? How do we get rid of them? How do we patch the environment? How do we close the holes? And how do we explain it all?’ ”
The classroom will also have professional training uses, with industry partners using it to better prepare their own teams.
The cyber range is funded by a state bond measure approved by voters in 2024. That bond provides RIC with $73 million in funding to renovate Whipple Hall, which will permanently house the Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies.
Further upgrades, which are slated for completion in 2028, will include additional cyber ranges, computer labs, collaborative workspaces, a security operations center and faculty offices.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
