Home on the range

University of Cincinnati’s School of Information Technology will be home to Ohio’s innovative training and testing tool, the Ohio Cyber Range.

By Matt Koesters
513-556-5279    

Photos: Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services

May 29, 2018

Tuesday, May 29, 2018 — Officials with the Ohio Department of Higher Education, the Ohio Adjutant General’s Department and the University of Cincinnati gathered Tuesday to celebrate the unveiling of the Ohio Cyber Range, the next step in Ohio’s innovative approach to improving the state’s cybersecurity capabilities and talent pipeline.

“The Ohio Cyber Range at UC will play a critical role in the advancement of cyber security education and research in the state of Ohio by tapping the unlimited potential of students, businesses and government,” said Stephen J. Smith, director of the Ohio Cyber Range at UC.

The Ohio Cyber Range is one of many initiatives developed by the Ohio Cyber Collaboration Committee, a collaborative effort led by the Adjutant General’s Department at the request of Gov. John R. Kasich to improve cybersecurity infrastructure and provide innovative training and education to strengthen Ohio’s cyber workforce.

The Ohio Department of Higher Education, in collaboration with the Ohio Adjutant General’s Department, awarded UC $1.9 million to establish a demonstration site for the Ohio Cyber Range by June 2019. UC’s Sandbox system will serve as the foundation of the Ohio Cyber Range. UC’s College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services invested about $500,000 in the creation of Sandbox, which was developed by two IT students for their senior design project. The state’s investment will greatly improve the Sandbox’s computing power and capabilities, expanding the number of users the Sandbox can serve and the number of computers it can simulate.

“The first phase of the range will be functional in the second half of 2018 and will consist of individual training and certification, tabletop cyber exercises and cyber contests for students,” said Maj. Gen. Mark E. Bartman, adjutant general of Ohio. “Future phases are in the planning stages and will expand the scope and functionality across Ohio's colleges, universities and high schools, providing curriculum support and enlarging Ohio's cyber workforce.”

The University of Cincinnati is a national leader in cyber education and has been designated a Center of Academic Excellence in both cyber operations and cyber defense education by the National Security Agency.

Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor John Carey, right, receives a demonstration of the Ohio Cyber Range.

Maj. General Mark Bartman, the adjutant general of the Ohio National Guard, speaks at the ribbon cutting for the Ohio Cyber Range as OCR director Stephen J Smith looks on.