Cyberbit is partnering with the Maryland-based Electronic Technology Associates (ETA) to deliver the ETA Cyber Range cybersecurity training center in Baltimore, Md., the companies said Sept. 21 during an economic development trade mission by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to Israel.
The ETA Cyber Range is set to be a training center to instruct cybersecurity professionals in how to protect national assets and infrastructure against cyber attacks. It will be powered by the Cyberbit Range Platform, a cybersecurity simulation and training environment that allows teams to train in a realistic setting.
“Such training allows the teams to respond faster and more effectively to complex and advanced attacks, such as ransomware, and to perform better as a team,” the governor’s office said.
The ETA Cyber Range will be the first live, standalone, hands-on cybersecurity training center in the U.S., Hogan’s office said. The center will be owned and operated by ETA, a woman-owned, federally-certified HUBZone enterprise that specializes in IT technology. ETA’s headquarters is in Baltimore.
Cyberbit is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Israeli company Elbit Systems [ESLT] that focuses on cybersecurity solutions. The announcement came during a meeting among Hogan; Bruce Spector, founder and CEO of ETA; Bash Kazi, president and CEO of Kazi Investment Group LLC; Adi Dar, CEO of Cyberbit; and Barry Bogage, executive director of the Maryland/Israel Development Center (MIDC).
“We’re very pleased to welcome the ETA Cyber Range to our state and, in particular, to Baltimore City. The city is fast becoming a hotbed of cybersecurity activity, and these companies’ investment in Baltimore is the latest sign that cyber innovation has found a home in Charm City,” Hogan said in a statement.
“We appreciate the assistance of the MIDC in bringing this project to fruition. As a lifelong resident of Baltimore, I’m excited to bring high-paying cybersecurity jobs to my hometown. The training center, powered by Cyberbit, will accelerate our local security professionals’ certification and improve their ability to confront today’s advanced attacks,” Spector added.
“By training and simulating the response process in advance, security staff can dramatically improve their performance. I am looking forward to helping Baltimore’s industry create top-notch security experts by means of the Range platform,” Adi Dar of CyberBit said.
The ETA Cyber Range is scheduled to open before the end of the 2016 calendar year. It will initially employ 20 cybersecurity professionals but the governor’s office said they expect it to employ up to 100 personnel by the end of 2017.
“The Maryland/Israel Development Center is proud to have helped Cyberbit come to Maryland,” Bogage of MIDC said.
The MIDC is a non-profit membership organization that promotes bilateral trade and investment between Maryland and Israel. It acts as a partnership between the Maryland Department of Commerce, Israel’s Ministry of Economy, and The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.