FBI Opens 22,000-Sq-Ft Cyber Range as U.S. Cybercrime Losses Hit $20.9 Billion
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 13
FBI Opens 22,000-Sq-Ft Cyber Range as U.S. Cybercrime Losses Hit $20.9 Billion
3 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 13
Summary
More than 1,400 students have trained at the FBI’s Kinetic Cyber Range since it opened in Huntsville, Alabama, in February 2025, giving law enforcement a hands-on site to simulate and investigate cyberattacks.
The 22,000-square-foot facility replicates a small U.S. town—with homes, a hospital, courthouse, power company and roads—so agents can practice ransomware and other incidents without any attack spilling into real networks.
More than 200 physical servers in an on-site data center are configured to mirror corporate environments investigators face during breach response and search warrants, alongside consumer and enterprise devices commonly targeted by hackers.
The FBI said the push reflects a worsening threat landscape: its 2025 Internet Crime Report logged record U.S. losses of $20.9 billion from more than 1 million complaints, up 26% from a year earlier, with ransomware the top critical-infrastructure threat.
With AI now powering cyberattacks, can the FBI's new 'Cyber Town' truly keep pace with the threat?
The FBI built a town to fight hackers, but who polices the powerful surveillance tools inside?
As the FBI teaches police to hack phones, are American privacy rights becoming a casualty?
U.S. Cybercrime Losses Hit $17.7 Billion in 2025: FBI Responds with Kinetic Cyber Range Training
Overview
In February 2025, the FBI opened the Kinetic Cyber Range in Huntsville, Alabama, marking a major step in preparing agents for modern cyber threats. This advanced facility goes beyond traditional classroom learning by offering a realistic and immersive training environment. Agents practice hands-on skills in mock locations and scenarios that closely simulate real-world situations, ensuring they are ready for the field. The range equips FBI personnel with advanced abilities to tackle rapidly evolving digital challenges, making their training as authentic as possible before deployment. This approach strengthens the FBI’s response to increasingly complex cyber incidents.