The worsening cyber skill shortage is creating a promising new growth opportunity for security service providers. As enterprises scramble to recruit, train and retain skilled professionals, they will seek out better ways to train and certify their staff.

In July 2017, we’ve interviewed Florian Schütz, Head of IT Risk and Security at Zalando, and former Head of Cybersecurity Training at a large Swiss defense company. Florian shared his experience in building one of the first cyber security training centers in Europe, and explained step-by-step how he created a profitable cyber training business:

• Identifying Targeted Training Programs
• Building a Business Plan
• Establishing a Comprehensive Cyber Range
• Customer Engagement

The strategic decision to build the training center using simulation technology which offers the most realistic training experience put differentiated them from other training platforms. Customers appreciate the advantages of simulation training in preparing their teams to face any possible cyber attack.

Simulation training is the fastest, most efficient way to certify new recruits quickly and keep skills up to date. Just like flight simulators used to train fighter pilots, cyber range simulators train personnel for cyber combat in a variety of complex scenarios, equipping them with the skills and confidence to respond effectively when a real-life hack occurs.

Even experienced cyber security staff can sharpen their skills using cyber training simulation. “What’s a much more worrying trend that I see is that even people working in Cyber Security positions have a harder time dealing with the complexity of the environment and keeping up with being an expert… Many Cyber Security operators or analysts and even incident managers lack the experience of working through a real security incident,” said Schütz.