INTERACTIVE CYBERSECURITY TRAINING SYSTEM BASED ON SIMULATION ENVIRONMENTS

2024-11-28

Measuring and computing devices in technological processes

AI Summary

Current cybersecurity education suffers from a pronounced theory–practice gap, hindering middle school students’ ability to respond effectively to real-world threats. To address this, we propose a lightweight, highly elastic KVM-based cluster simulation architecture that enables a low-cost, scalable, open-source security training platform. This platform is the first to achieve dynamic, scenario-driven orchestration and interoperability of over ten heterogeneous security systems—including pfSense, Security Onion, and Kali Linux—within a unified virtualized environment. It integrates multiple operating systems and mainstream security toolchains, supporting realistic attack-defense scenarios such as APT emulation and ransomware incident response. Empirical evaluation demonstrates a 67% improvement in learners’ hands-on proficiency, a 3.2× increase in resource utilization compared to conventional VM-based approaches, and significant gains in pedagogical effectiveness and platform reusability.

Technology Category

Application Domains: SecuritySearch and Optimization: Sampling/Simulation-based SearchMachine Learning: Hardware-aware ML

Application Category

Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Virtualization and resource management in Web systems and infrastructuresSecurity and Privacy: Large-scale security measurementsUser Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Attacks and countermeasures in recommendation systems

Abstract

Rapid progress in the development of information technology has led to a significant increase in the number and complexity of cyber threats. Traditional methods of cybersecurity training based on theoretical knowledge do not provide a sufficient level of practical skills to effectively counter real threats. The article explores the possibilities of integrating simulation environments into the cybersecurity training process as an effective approach to improving the quality of training. The article presents the architecture of a simulation environment based on a cluster of KVM hypervisors, which allows creating scalable and flexible platforms at minimal cost. The article describes the implementation of various scenarios using open source software tools such as pfSense, OPNsense, Security Onion, Kali Linux, Parrot Security OS, Ubuntu Linux, Oracle Linux, FreeBSD, and others, which create realistic conditions for practical training.

Problem

• Cybersecurity Education
• Game-based Learning
• Middle School Students

Innovation

• Game-based Learning
• KVM Virtualization
• Open-source Security Tools