How Hands-On Training and Strong Partnerships Strengthen Cyber Readiness

How Hands-On Training and Strong Partnerships Strengthen Cyber Readiness

By Bri Frost, Director of Product Management, Cloud Range

Real Readiness Starts With Experience

In the public sector, cybersecurity isn’t just about tools or frameworks — it’s about people making decisions under pressure.

When networks that power missions or protect communities come under attack, what determines the outcome isn’t policy. It’s how teams respond in those first few minutes.

At TechNet Indo-Pacific 2025, I joined experts from CompTIA, Cubic DTECH, and AWS to lead a live cyber range exercise focused on defending critical communications infrastructure. Participants stepped into a full-scale simulation that blended IT and OT systems, experiencing firsthand what happens when theory meets reality.

The takeaway was clear: readiness isn’t something you read about — it’s something you have to feel.

Why Experience Matters More Than Awareness

We often talk about the cybersecurity skills gap. What I see, again and again, is actually an experience gap.

Most people know the right steps in principle. But when an unexpected variable enters — a system that behaves differently, a communication breakdown, an unfamiliar interface — hesitation creeps in.

That’s where simulation training becomes invaluable. It gives teams the chance to make mistakes, recover quickly, and learn what works when the pressure is real. It also helps bridge the gap between IT and OT teams, who often operate in separate worlds until an incident forces them together.

There’s a different kind of learning that happens when people collaborate under live conditions. It’s faster, more personal, and it sticks.

Partnerships Turn Practice Into Progress

What made the TechNet experience powerful wasn’t the technology — it was the collaboration.

Each organization brought something unique to the table: CompTIA’s workforce development expertise, Cubic DTECH’s perspective on the tactical edge, and AWS’s scalable infrastructure. Together, we created an environment that felt close to what government teams face every day.

That collaboration represents something bigger happening across the public sector. More agencies, universities, and industry partners are coming together to build shared training ecosystems where readiness isn’t isolated — it’s collective.

At TechNet Indo-Pacific 2025, Cloud Range teamed up with CompTIA and Cubic DTECH to bring live-fire, cyber range training directly to the floor — where IT and OT collide.

From One Event to an Ongoing Effort

Programs like IBM Cyber Campus reflect this same shift toward collaboration and continuous learning. They’re creating spaces where agencies, educators, and private-sector partners can train together — not once a year, but as part of everyday workforce development.

It’s a simple but powerful idea: make realistic practice accessible. When defenders can train in environments that look and feel like their real systems, they don’t just gain skills — they build reflexes. And those reflexes are what turn capability into confidence.

The Bigger Picture

Every time I participate in a live simulation, I’m reminded how much potential exists when training becomes shared across sectors.

Readiness can’t live in a silo. It has to be built across teams, across agencies, and across partners who are willing to invest in one another’s growth. The more we create opportunities for people to experience the realities of modern attacks — safely, collaboratively, and often — the stronger our collective defense becomes.

Because in the end, readiness isn’t just about protecting systems. It’s about protecting people who rely on them.