Dive Brief:

• IBM Security announced Wednesday it plans to invest $200 million in its incident response capabilities, including new facilities, services and software, to help businesses better respond to cyberthreats.

• The investments include a new headquarters and a Cyber Range, where participants can get hands-on, real-world experience responding to cyberattacks.

• The Cyber Range, located at IBM Security's headquarters in Cambridge, MA, acts as a simulation center to help security experts respond to threats in real time. The center users live malware, ransomware and other hacking tools to teach experts how to defend against and stop attacks. 

Dive Insight:

Businesses face a growing number of cybersecurity threats almost daily, but preparing for such incidents is difficult if they don’t know what to expect or do not have a response plan in place. A new Ponemon Institute study released Wednesday found 75% of IT and security professionals surveyed don’t have a modern, enterprise-wide incident response plan.

IBM’s new range is reportedly the first of its kind for private industry, though similar simulation centers are available in the public sector, particularly in the defense contracting setting. 

The idea is to create an immersive experience to test security professionals' capabilities while in a closed of setting, free from damage or threats to internal enterprise networks. In the event of an actual cyberattack professionals should have the tools necessary to respond.