The Cyber Learner Lifecycle™
The Cyber Learner Lifecycle™
What is the Cyber Learner Lifecycle?
The Cyber Learner Lifecycle™ covers all the stages for learning and training that a cybersecurity professional goes through, including everything that happens before employment, as they're employed, and throughout their career.
First, the Cyber Learner needs to see what they are best suited for within the various cybersecurity roles.
Then they learn how to do it.
Then they prove that they can do it.
Then they are hired and paid to do it.
And then they get better at it, continue to do it well, and advance.
It’s important to think about the entire journey, not just one or two pieces of it. That helps people outline their career paths, and it helps employers, CISOs, and security leaders build on learners’ experiences and create exciting futures together.
Cloud Range developed the Cyber Learner Lifecycle with the ultimate objective of having the right people in the right seats and with the right training.
The following is an overview of each step and how it is supported by Cloud Range’s cyber range solutions.
Qualify
Hire the best-fit candidates
There are a lot of different jobs in cybersecurity – not everyone is an ethical hacker, no matter what they show on TV. The first step in the Cyber Learner Lifecycle is to understand what roles the Learner is best suited to. Just because somebody wants to be a penetration tester doesn't mean that they have the innate abilities to be a good pen tester, but they may be a great forensics analyst.
That’s where Cloud Range’s RightTrak™ Cyber Aptitude Assessment comes in. The easy-to-take cognitive assessment matches an individual’s natural talents and abilities with their optimal cyber work roles.
Because you don’t have to know anything about cybersecurity to take RightTrak, it can be taken by a 15-year-old determining what to do after high school or by a 50-year-old wanting to change careers.
The final metric-based report includes scores that predict how the individual will succeed in different areas of cybersecurity such as ethical hacking, cyber defense, development and design, and analysis and forensics. RightTrak provides CISOs and other business leaders and hiring managers with the details they need to not only hire the right people, but also to gauge their potential for success in their new role.
Learn
Ensure foundational knowledge and skills
Once someone knows their strengths and the roles they are innately qualified for, they can plan their ideal cybersecurity learning path and career trajectory.
The Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework) outlines the recommended knowledge, skills, tasks, and capabilities needed for each cyber work role. Additionally, the RightTrak report details what Cloud Range courses and labs to take according to the individual’s best-fit work roles.
Learning can be done through traditional higher education, cyber-specific schools and programs, workforce development programs, certifications, and other methods.
Assess
Evaluate candidates’ performance
Before someone is hired, or before someone transitions to a new role within the company, it’s important to assess them and understand what they can and can’t do. Employers may see a good resume with the right courses and certifications, and they may have the person’s RightTrak score showing they innately have the potential to be successful in a job – but they still need to know if the person can DO the job.
The FastTrak Candidate Assessment is a simulation of what the job would be. The candidate engages in role-specific exercises on Cloud Range’s cyber range platform, with a live environment, security tools, alerts, and more.
The results show employers how the person performs, how they think through a situation, if they know what steps to take, etc. It is similar to the way coaches look at a player’s game film to assess performance. FastTrak results help the employer see beyond the resume and make the best hiring decision. They also provide a baseline so the employer can set up a customized plan for training and growth.
Onboard
Quickly get new employees up to speed
As employers bring in new team members, they can use Cloud Range’s live-fire simulation exercises for teams and skills development labs to accelerate the employee's productivity.
It’s crucial for new employees to go through immersive training specific to the company’s tech stack. In Cloud Range’s FlexRange Program, the hyper-realistic cyber range is set up to mimic the organization’s environment and tools. Missions are overseen by experts who guide and evaluate participants and ensure the training meets the security leader’s objectives. The team environment helps new employees understand how everyone’s different roles fit together and how to best work together to respond to an incident.
FlexLabs provide team members with immersive, hands-on cybersecurity skills training in our interactive, emulated environment. Employees can bridge any gaps and learn new skills. With hundreds of on-demand labs, each person can select from a vast collection of content and train based on experience level and role.
Train, Upskill, Maintain, & Advance
Improve with immersive, real-world scenarios
Cybersecurity professionals in all roles need ongoing training to continue to upskill and stay ahead of the threat landscape because things change all the time. Training is not one and done. That’s why Cloud Range works with each of our customers to create a customized, prescriptive training and analysis program that continually prepares team members of all experience levels to detect and respond to various types of cyberattacks.
Cybersecurity professionals need to regularly engage in cyber training in an immersive environment with real-world attack scenarios — because most people have never actually experienced a full cyberattack. The more frequently SOC and IR team members are engaging in simulation training exercises, the more prepared they will be to reduce risk for the company.
Ongoing training should include a mix of FlexRange instructor-led missions, OpenRange sessions without instructors, and FlexLabs skills development modules. Additionally, Tabletop 2.0 uses Cloud Range’s simulated cyber range environment to provide real-world context for traditional tabletop exercises.
Training plans are also critical for retaining people. Employees stay longer when they have a plan for growth and understand their potential career path.
Because education and training is ongoing, the training section of the Cyber Learner Lifecycle enters a circle of continual upskilling, maintenance, and advancement. Keep teams battle-ready to stay ahead of cyber attacks, while continuing to improve each person’s soft skills and prepare them for the next level in their careers.
Cloud Range is the only cyber range solution that covers the entire Cyber Learner Lifecycle. Contact us to discuss how we can help you achieve your goals.