CyberGym Control: An Innovative Approach to Tackling Cyberattacks

Ofir Hason, CEO

CyberGym Control offers end-to-end, human-centered cybersecurity training and defense solutions through World Cyber Warfare Arena (WCWA), a networked platform that leverages the skills and capabilities of the humans. The company works towards changing the way organizations respond to cyberattacks. “We work to rebalance the game against the bad elements in cyberspace,” says Ofir Hason, CEO of CyberGym Control.

In an interview with CIO Applications, Hason shares insights on CyberGym’s platform and its innovative approach that helps organizations efficiently deal with cyberattacks.

Could you provide us details about CyberGym Control’s inception?

The founders at CyberGym Control bring extensive experience of working with various security agencies in Israel. Before establishing CyberGym, when we looked at the cybersecurity space, we realized that there was no relevant platform that could train and prepare the employees in an organization against cyberattacks. Taking this into consideration, in 2013, we decided to build our first training arena to train employees in an organization to combat cyberattacks. This arena was inspired by the concepts of military drills, where every activity is exceedingly challenging but equally important. Implementing this concept in the cybersecurity space, we developed an arena, which remains completely booked even today.

What according to you are the threats in the cybersecurity space and how is CyberGym Control tackling them?

The technology industry is mostly abuzz with the news of varied security threats. Board members and C-level managers across different organizations face many such situations where they have to deal with different threats, but in some cases, they don’t have the right tools, skills, and capabilities to deal with them effectively. With our platform, we help businesses gain the ability to tackle such threats.

Elaborate on the company’s platform, World Cyber Warfare Arena?

Before we started to conduct training through our platform, the only training services in the industry were provided by cybersecurity schools using PowerPoint presentations and other software.

It is crucial for an organization to have the right people with the right capabilities ready against cyberattacks and we facilitate that

After analyzing this scenario, we wanted to deliver effective training services based on real scenarios and technologies. We then created World Cyber Warfare arena based on real-life situations encountered by us. For instance, just like it is necessary in a boxing ring to know about the opponent, in the cybersecurity space too, it is important for businesses to be equipped with knowledge on how to react when a cyberattack takes place.

Our platform is an integrated cyber training and technologies arena that supports organizations in finance, energy, and manufacturing sectors along with businesses that have critical infrastructure. This platform enables them to test their systems, processes, and people against cyberattacks and prepares them to respond to such threats.

According to you, what separates your platform from the other training solutions in the industry?

With our platform, businesses can build their own scenarios and access different profiles of hackers to train their employees on how to react to different threat situations. For instance, if the Victoria state government wants to be protected against the next generation of ransomware attacks such as WannaCry, they can leverage our platform and upload a new attack and run it as a part of the training. This enables them to analyze if the trainees can protect their organization against such attacks. We have also developed a software solution that allows to mix and match different training packages customized to address various needs of clients.

We also conduct feedback sessions with our customers to understand if our training sessions helped them. Our platform makes the clients feel more comfortable dealing with the cyberattacks, and efficiently take the right decisions before, during, and after an attack takes place. We are also changing the engagement rules with the hackers in the cyberspace.

State a case study wherein CyberGym Control was instrumental in addressing a challenge faced by a client.

An electricity company from Portugal—semi-owned by the government—wanted to ensure that its electricity grid was secure. They also wanted to train their employees worldwide to tackle cyberattacks. Leveraging our technology, the firm built their own arena customized to their threat model. They are also carrying out training sessions to ensure the trainees later serve as cyber experts to operate the arena and respond to any kind of cyber threats. CyberGym also collaborated with the Government of Australia to build a facility to train people across different sectors.

Tell us about the future plans of CyberGym Control?

We aim to build more facilities around the world and create nodes as part of WCWA (World Cyber Warfare Arena) to create a more reliable and effective network worldwide. We also have plans to expand into Western Europe, Spain, Italy, UK, South America, and the US. With a vision to create more insights and effective outcomes for our customers, we will continuously work to mitigate the threats in the cyberspace. It is crucial for an organization to have the right people with the right capabilities ready against cyberattacks and we facilitate that.