Circadence Brings Project Ares Cybersecurity Platform to Microsoft Azure

Circadence Corporation®, a market leader in cybersecurity readiness, announced that its fully immersive, gamified, AI-powered cybersecurity learning and assessment platform, Project Ares, is now available on Microsoft Azure.

Circadence helps address one of today’s biggest cybersecurity learning challenges through its connection with Azure: scalability. By hosting Project Ares on Azure, Circadence has established a learning environment that can scale to replicate networks, complex enterprises, interconnected city infrastructure, and even military operations, with full digital fidelity.

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Within Project Ares, CyRaaS – or Circadence’s Cyber Range-as-a-Service – is the innovative capability that spins up simulated, virtual environments. When cloned in CyRaaS, the learning model is computationally elastic. It can be used for individual skill-based learning, team collaboration and interaction, staff or student assessment, cyber-attack scenario testing, and more – and then be restored to the original state with the flip of a virtual switch. CyRaaS creates authentic, immersive, real-world learning experiences for cyber professionals who can now safely enhance their skillsets and performance without compromising operational infrastructure.

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“Our virtual cyber ranges are built from the ground up based on rigorous security and privacy demands, which makes them able to support collective nation-state exercises, as well as model entire cities to develop living physical and fifth domain environments,” said Michael Moniz, co-founder, president and CEO of Circadence. “The recent National Defense Authorization Act language underscores the United States government’s interest in moving its cyber ranges to the public cloud. With Microsoft Azure, Circadence is now positioned with both the content and technology to empower this digital transformation.”

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Project Ares is emerging as a premier, long-term cyber learning solution for enterprise, government and academic organizations seeking public and/or private, cloud-based cyber range options to better develop their security professionals. Powered by Azure intelligent cloud, Project Ares:

• Eliminates the need for expensive in-house cyber range infrastructure;
• Enables easy integration into classroom, enterprise or agency work environments with browser-based access and 24/7 availability; and
• Can rapidly integrate, with low technical risk, new security solutions as they become available on Azure for operational networks.

Additionally, the Azure Bot Service drives the Project Ares in-game advisor, Athena, which supports players as they advance through learning levels, helping to reduce the amount of instructor time and support required.

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“Using our artificial intelligence solutions and the scalability of Microsoft Azure, Circadence is making rapid product advancements in the cybersecurity space. The virtual simulations they’re creating are helping cyber professionals enhance their skills without harming infrastructure, so they can be better prepared as the threat landscape evolves,” said Tom Keane, Corporate Vice President of Azure Global at Microsoft.