The Federal Bureau of Investigation has given the public a glimpse into a simulated Alabama town used for training future agents in cyber warfare and real-world investigations.
Inside the Kinetic Cyber Range
The facility, located in Huntsville, Alabama, spans 6,700 square meters and houses a fully functional fake town. It includes houses, a hotel, a power company, a hospital, and a gas station, all wired with operational systems, networks, and devices that mimic real-world behavior.
Dave Beachboard, manager of the indoor technical training facility, emphasized the realism: “This is about as real as it’s going to get before people go out in the field.”
From Classroom to Hands-On Training
Prior to the range’s opening in February 2025, training was largely theoretical. Beachboard noted, “In the past, you never left the classroom. Everything was presented to you at your desk. … Everything was kind of theory-based.”
Since its launch, the facility has trained over 1,400 agents, including FBI personnel and partner agencies. The fake town is designed to bring authenticity to training exercises.
Realistic Scenarios
Trainees engage in various exercises, such as disassembling a vehicle’s interior to trace wiring and electronic controls, or investigating a home with internet-connected devices to determine what evidence to seize. At a data center with over 200 servers, students experience working in a real server environment.
Beachboard explained, “The systems that we have running in these facilities are just as real as the facade on the outside. When they start diving into the network, they’re going to see active directory, email, firewalls — everything that’s typical of that venue.”
Soft Skills and Cyber Investigations
Training also includes mock interviews with individuals acting as business owners and legal teams. Stephanie Cassioppi, head of the cyber training unit, stressed the importance of communication: “Interviews are conducted ensuring the company understands what we are collecting, but, more importantly, what we are not collecting.”
Cyber investigations are a key component, with agents learning to trace digital activities across networks. Cassioppi noted, “For us, our threat actors are overseas. … The odds are I’m never going to get my hands on their computer or their phone.”
Students practice identifying malware spread and following digital breadcrumbs across multiple systems and jurisdictions. Cassioppi added, “Cyber is not just technical. It’s also practicing those soft skills, the dealing with people.”
