No abstract

The importance of Cyber Security is becoming more and more widely known among companies and government institutions. This came at a cost that many business and public administration entities have paid in recent years. This indirect cost is due to the multitude of cyberattacks to which they have been subjected, attacks directed to the IT infrastructures of these entities. Recent studies show that most cyberattacks were based on vulnerabilities caused by the human factor: either directly, through the mishandling of technology (hardware and software), or indirectly, through the misconfiguration of cyber services exposed on the Internet. Cyber Range systems can offer multiple functionalities depending on the field of activity for which they are implemented. One of the main advantages of Cyber Ranges is that these systems can make a major contribution to the digitization of educational platforms, regardless of the field of study. This study aims to contribute to the process of educational environment optimization by addressing the influence of implementing Cyber Range systems as part of the digitalization of the educational process, particularly in the sphere of cybersecurity training. The conclusions presented in this article might have a major positive influence on educational effectiveness if they are implemented. The immediate impact in the field of cybersecurity is a financial one, as trained users reduce the risk of costly cyberattacks.

Cyber Ranges represent complex, multi-component informatic systems, mainly used in the cyber security field. This domain is not the only operational scope of the Cyber Range concept. The applicability of this kind of system presents great benefits in domains like education, research, military etc. The entire scope of Cyber Range systems may be classified into three main categories: training and simulation, research and e-learning. The complexity of a Cyber Range system involves a time and financial consuming implementation. Depending on the area of operation, implementation may vary because each domain involves specific components. As a result, there must be steps prior to implementation in which the whole set of required pieces must be determined precisely. The existence of an implementation methodology may increase the performance and decrease the implementation costs - in the manner of time and financial resources. This paper aims to lay the foundations of a methodology for implementing cyber range systems in the main fields (training and simulation, research and e-learning). Starting from this methodology, detailed configuration and implementation procedures can be developed in each branch of each field.