The FBI built its own replica small town to simulate real-world cyberattacks

The FBI has revealed an impressive 22,000 square-foot replica town located on its Huntsville, Alabama campus, designed specifically to enhance training for law enforcement personnel in handling real-world cyberattacks. This unique facility aims to provide a hands-on learning experience, allowing investigators to engage with both consumer and enterprise technologies that are frequently targeted by cybercriminals. According to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, which compiled data from over one million complaints, U.S. cybercrime losses reached a staggering $20.9 billion, marking a 26% increase from the previous year. Ransomware has emerged as the primary threat to critical infrastructure, underscoring the urgency of this training initiative. Known as the Kinetic Cyber Range, this purpose-built town opened its doors in February 2025 and includes a variety of structures such as fully furnished homes, a hotel, a gas station, a grocery store, a courthouse, a hospital, and a power company. The layout, complete with roads and traffic lights, is designed to replicate the dynamics of a typical American community. Since its inception, the facility has trained over 1,400 individuals, including FBI agents and personnel from various federal and local agencies. Each structure within the town is equipped with operational devices and systems that mimic the behaviors found in real-life communities and businesses, while ensuring that any simulated cyberattacks remain contained within the facility’s walls. The Kinetic Cyber Range also features a data center housing more than 200 physical servers running both Windows and Linux, reflecting the diverse environments that investigators may encounter during breaches or search warrants. "They’re cold, they’re cramped, they’re noisy, they’re dark, they’re miserable," described Dave Beachboard, the range’s program manager, highlighting the realistic but challenging conditions of the training environment. This innovative training ground not only enables the FBI to simulate ransomware attacks and the associated real-world consequences, but also prepares investigators to make critical decisions under pressure, such as when hospital systems are compromised. Furthermore, the Kinetic Cyber Range plays a crucial role in instructing U.S. investigators in digital forensics, which involves overcoming the cybersecurity defenses of modern encrypted devices to extract vital data for criminal investigations. The tools used in this process can be controversial, as they exploit vulnerabilities that remain undisclosed to manufacturers like Apple and Google, effectively bypassing the security measures designed for user protection.