More and more government agencies across the United States are looking for ways to improve their cyber defenses. The Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida (Cyber ​​​​Florida) is partnering with SimSpace to train the Sunshine State’s 1 million state and local government employees in cyber defense tactics using military-grade cyber training ranges.

“One of the most important things the military does is conduct mission exercises. Practice before you do something,” said SimSpace CEO and former Air Force Colonel William “Hutch” Hutchinson. “In real-world circumstances, this is obviously something the private or commercial sector could use as well.”

Hutchinson served as an F-15 fighter pilot and was trained in Red Flag exercises, which were developed after the Vietnam War to improve combat readiness.

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“One of the lessons was that a fighter pilot’s chances of success increase dramatically if you survive your first 10 combat missions,” Hutchinson said. “So they developed an exercise to replicate those first 10 combat missions.”

Former Air Force Colonel William “Hutch” Hutchinson served as an F-15 fighter pilot. Today, Hutchinson is CEO of SimSpace and provides military training to civilians in the public and private sectors. (US Air Force)

Hutchinson took this training with him to U.S. Cyber ​​​​Command to lead similar exercises called Cyber ​​​​Flag.

“The idea was to give commanders insight into how we would perform in a future cyber conflict,” Hutchinson said.

Today, as CEO of SimSpace, Hutchinson supports the training of civilians in the public and private sectors using military methods.

“It’s the public-private partnership,” said Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida. “The military has it tough, as do some of these organizations like Cyber ​​Florida that attract people who stay up all night drinking Red Bull and hacking. I think the middle ground is often the reserves, where you learn these civilian skills that are often way ahead of the government agencies in terms of new technologies and the types of people they recruit.”

In recent years, dozens of state legislatures, in addition to Florida, have passed legislation to strengthen cyber defenses. Michigan first introduced the concept of a volunteer cybersecurity reserve force in 2013. Wisconsin, Ohio, Texas, California and Maryland have all created similar reserve programs. Other states, such as Oklahoma and Arizona, have state cyber commands that protect government information systems and data.

“The threat is significant. When you think about the future and major battles between almost pure adversaries, the next first strike of this kind is probably not going to be like Pearl Harbor. It’s going to be a cyberattack,” said Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona. “Our adversaries out there, whether it’s China, Iran, Russia, now North Korea, have invested heavily in this thing. We need to make a bigger effort to train the workforce that’s going to defend this country.”

James Gerber, SimSpace CFO, said Cyber ​​Florida has gone beyond what many other states do by offering customized training in academically supported practice environments.

“They can really focus on preparing for the latest types of severe events that the governor and mayors want to be prepared for. And they can deliver those responses with confidence,” Gerber said.

The Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida (Cyber ​​​​Florida) is partnering with SimSpace to train one million state and local government employees in cyber defense tactics at military cyber training ranges. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Cyber ​​​​Ranges are interactive, simulated platforms. They recreate scenarios for different sectors of government, such as healthcare or energy, based on the threats these sectors may face.

“Ten years ago there were some viable options, but nothing compared to what we see today,” said Bruce Caulkins, Cyber ​​​​Range Director for Cyber ​​​​Florida. “This really helps users understand what is going on with their systems and networks and how to properly respond.”

There is a shortage of cyber defense professionals at the state and federal levels, and policymakers say both the public and private sectors are struggling to recruit talent.

“There are a lot of openings. The challenge is getting people into the programs that are often referred to as STEM programs,” Kelly said. “We worked in a bipartisan way on the Chips and Science Act. We need to do more of that specifically for cyber and also Arizona.”

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala., left) and House Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) discuss the National Defense Authorization Act during a meeting of the House Rules Committee in the U.S. Capitol on June 11, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)

The federal government is also working to strengthen its cyber defenses. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 provides for the establishment of a civilian cybersecurity reserve to help authorities respond to cyberattacks.

“We just created a civilian cybersecurity core in the last defense bill that is designed to bridge the civilian technology world and the military national security, the homeland security world, and bring the two together,” Waltz said.

Waltz said strengthening partnerships with the private sector is critical to defending against adversaries like China.

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“We can’t play a perfect defense,” Waltz said. “We’re trying to hit 1,000 and not let anything through. I think with China in particular, we have to take a mutual destruction approach like we did years ago with nuclear weapons, where we can also cripple your economy and your critical infrastructure. So you better not cripple ours.”