CySER Virtual Seminar – Building and Scaling a Statewide Educational Cyber Range: Real-World Data, AI/ML, and Hands-On Cybersecurity Education

About the event

Speaker: Paul Haithcock, Cloud Administrator, Cyber Range Poulsbo, Western Washington University

Abstract: The Washington State Educational Cyber Range has grown from a university resource into a free, open educational platform serving all public universities and community colleges in Washington, along with expanding K-12 programs. In this talk I will share how we designed and operate a hybrid on-premise and cloud infrastructure that supports advanced training, live competitions, and applied research. I will highlight our real-world data pipelines (including large-scale public infrastructure monitoring and honeypot collections), the integration of AI/ML for analysis and student projects, and the special projects model that connects academic teams with industry and government partners such as PNNL, the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and others. The session will also cover opportunities for students to engage in research, internships, and production deployments, and how institutions can leverage the range for curriculum and experiential learning.

Biography: Paul K. Haithcock is the Cloud Administrator for Western Washington University’s Cyber Range Poulsbo, where he plays a key role in designing, building, and operating the range’s hybrid on-premises and cloud infrastructure. His work enables a secure, scalable statewide cybersecurity education environment that gives students across Washington’s high schools, community and technical colleges, and universities access to hands-on learning and real-world cybersecurity experiences.