Empirical Study on Cyber Range Capabilities, Interactions and Learning Features

Emerging technologies and the globalization require constant investment in people and their performance in actual and virtual environments. New technologies such as autonomous systems, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) radically re-contextualize the human dimension of the organization. Technological developments are changing the ways people experience the physical and the virtual environments. Strategic changes have revealed new critical vulnerabilities such as social media-based disinformation campaigning with impact on the human aspects at state, societal, organizational and individual levels. Scenarios of gathering information, committing fraud or getting access to critical systems are often used for follow-up actions. Cybersecurity education and training aim to raise the level of expertise, skills and competences and ensure better performance in complex situations in cyber space. Researchers have addressed assumptions, models, concepts and cognitive aspects of humans performing in the cyber domain. However, the human cognitive learning and human performance approaches in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (XM) and Cyber Range (CR) learning platform design are only partly touched. CRs are becoming crucial means in acquisition of skills and knowledge but also to augment and mimic human cognitive behaviour for cognitive agents. Empirical studies and evaluations of the capabilities, tools and techniques for enhancing organizational cyber resilience by the human performance to better face cyber-attacks are needed. The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review, suggest viewpoints on cybersecurity training and education and to study the current capabilities of CRs. This paper includes a literature review to support human performance and provides empirical findings on CR capabilities, interactions and learning features. The results of this study can be used as a baseline for future initiatives towards the development of CRs in accordance with human cognitive learning and future improvements in design. Furthermore, the intention is to constructively promote discussion on current issues about humans in cyber physical systems and cybersecurity domain and thus boost multidisciplinary studies to enhance cyber awareness in different sectors.