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Center for Cybersecurity Innovation & Outreach

Cybersecurity Simulation (CySim): A Cyber Sports Exercise

Using scenario-based exercises to prepare a cyber event.

What is a CySIM exercise?

CySIM (Cyber Simulation Exercise) is a broader exercise approach that includes IT professionals alongside organizational leaders and operational staff.

CySIM exercises explore how:

  • technical response
  • organizational decision-making
  • internal and external coordination

interact during a cyber incident.

How CySIM differs from CIME

  • CIME: Non-IT participants, decision-focused, continuity-oriented
  • CySIM: IT and non-IT participants together, integrated technical and organizational response

A CySIM exercise may include a CIME component, but the overall scope is broader.

Typical CySIM formats

  • Organization-wide cyber exercises
  • Multi-organization or regional exercises
  • Statewide exercises with coordinated locations
  • IT-focused simulations with leadership engagement

What organizations gain from CySIM

  • Improved coordination between IT and leadership
  • Better understanding of dependencies and impacts
  • Identification of technical and organizational gaps
  • Actionable insights captured through after-action reporting

Practice Makes Perfect

Preparedness goes beyond having a well-trained cybersecurity workforce. It involves the entire organization. Imagine practicing how to handle a cyber-attack, where your cybersecurity experts work with other departments within the organization—including the c-suite—and interact with simulated external groups.

We address this challenge here.

Organizations will practice based on scenarios tailored to specific situations. CySim supports scenario-based exercises, which allows interdisciplinary teams to work together to practice cyber threat mitigation strategies.

More about CySim

Informational Video

Center for Cybersecurity Innovation & Outreach

cyio@iastate.edu

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