A Survey of Cyber Range: Current Status, Analysis, and Future Trends

The escalating threats in the realm of cybersecurity have given rise to the demand for security assessments of information systems. However, due to the limitations of freely and continuously conducting real-time security tests on actual systems, the need for simulation-based evaluation arises, leading to the emergence of network cyber range technology. In recent years, network cyber ranges have evolved into pivotal scientific infrastructures supporting the construction of national cybersecurity strategies. They are rapidly becoming the digital innovation frontier for countries and organizations such as the United States, the European Union, and Japan. These cyber ranges effectively support a range of activities in the field of cybersecurity, including security technology research, red team-blue team exercises, security capability evaluations, and validation of emerging network technologies. In this paper, we collect, consolidate, and summarize existing cyber ranges, analyze their core technologies, key functionalities, and classical applications. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the current state of cyber range technology and shed light on its shortcomings and future development trends.