MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Jones College of Business began construction Monday, Sept. 28, on a $5.6 million cybersecurity range that will provide a real-world virtual training environment for cyberattacks. It’s the first of its kind within Tennessee higher education.

Housed within existing space on the first floor of the Miller Education Center on Bell Street, the MTSU Cyber Range, created in partnership with IBM and powered by AWS and Cloud Range technologies, will be a cutting-edge simulation environment where students, businesses, and government agencies can train for real-world cyberattacks.

The 2,446-square-foot renovated space will include a theater (a classroom/lab for simulations), an observation room, faculty and staff offices, and breakout rooms. The facility, expected to be completed for use in January, is made possible by $5 million from the state, and the remainder through contributions from industry partners Middle Tennessee Electric, Delta Dental, and National Healthcare Corp., or NHC.

Equipped with hard hats, safety goggles, gloves and sledgehammers, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and Jones College Dean Joyce Heames teamed up for a “wall breaking” event on Friday, Sept. 25, to mark the beginning of the project, as cybersecurity faculty, MTSU and industry representatives applauded. 

Watch the ceremony below:

“This really addresses a workforce need. It also shows the partnership that the university has with some of the best corporate entities in the world, like IBM and our industry partners within the community,” McPhee said. “I congratulate Dean Heames and our faculty who had the vision to put this together.”

MTSU is one of 10 strategic partnerships that IBM has forged with universities, including Marshall University, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and the University of Ottawa, among others.

“The installation of the MTSU Jones College Cyber Range is about preparing people for the cybersecurity challenges of tomorrow, not simply teaching them about those challenges today,” said Heames. “ We are bringing some of the most advanced cybersecurity technology available into an immersive learning environment where our students can move beyond theory and application to the demonstration of real-world skills.”

‘Where education and workforce development come together’

Heames added that the cyber range will serve the broader Middle Tennessee workforce “by providing companies with a safe, controlled environment where employees can strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities, practice responding to real-world threats, and train without putting their organizations or systems at risk.”

“This is where education and workforce development come together. Our goal is to create a pipeline of cyber-ready talent while also helping existing professionals remain prepared for an increasingly complex digital world,” Heames continued. “The Jones College Cyber Range positions MTSU to be a significant regional resource for cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development across Middle Tennessee and beyond.”

Tim Greer chairs the Department of Information Systems and Analytics, which houses MTSU’s cybersecurity management undergraduate and graduate programs in cybersecurity management. Greer will serve as director of the Cyber Range, which will build upon the college’s investment in cybersecurity education that also includes the Center for Cybersecurity Management.

“Middle Tennessee employers want cybersecurity experience, even for entry-level jobs. Our graduates will have it. In the Cyber Range, students respond to live-fire incidents based on what attackers are doing right now, including ransomware, phishing, and intrusions into critical infrastructure,” Greer said. “They leave MTSU having already handled realistic cyberattacks. The Cyber Range will serve more than our students. We want local businesses, government agencies, K-12 schools, and our partners to use it to train their teams and test their response plans.”

Stacy Hapgood, a partner and senior state executive in Tennessee for IBM Consulting, said plans for the cyber range began with a call he received several months ago.

“I wasn’t quite sure where this was going to go, but I quickly realized she had a vision for the university, for her school, for the students, and for Middle Tennessee. This is going to be a tremendous asset, not only for MTSU, but for the state of Tennessee,” Hapgood said. “When I took this role, I had a goal for Tennessee to become one of the leading cyber education states in America. And today, breaking this wall, and with the support of President McPhee, the Board of Trustees, all of the leadership of the university, we’re starting to make that vision a reality.”

For more information about MTSU’s Cybersecurity Management program, visit cyber.mtsu.edu.

— Jimmy Hart ([email protected]) and Darby Campbell-Firkus ([email protected])