CASE STUDY 1 Check Point: tracking thinking, not just results in Cyber Ranges Context : Check Point is rethinking how cybersecurity experts learn by letting them practice in realistic, high-pressure environments. Through its education arm, the company uses cyber ranges, virtual spaces that simulate real attacks, to help analysts sharpen their decision-making under pressure. In 2025, Check Point hosted its first Global Cyber Range Challenge, a virtual event that brought together participants from 11 countries and 12 universities. Using the company’s Cyber Park simulation platform, teams investigated full-scale cyber incidents from start to finish. This demonstrates how hands-on, immersive training helps build stronger, more confident cyber experts by tracking how analysts think under pressure, not just the outcomes they produce. Beyond events, Check Point publishes training programmes and a consolidated course catalogue to systematize advanced critical skill development for teams and enterprises. Over the past four years, the programme has trained an average of 8,500 learners annually, reaching more than 34,000 professionals globally. Approach : The Cyber Range is designed to show how people think through a problem, not just whether they find the right answer. Participants start by exploring a network, then move step by step through analysis using standard cybersecurity tools. They finish by writing a report that explains their decisions and trade-offs. Throughout the exercise, the system records what they do, what information they check, and how they test their ideas. This allows coaches to assess reasoning, teamwork and communication to supplement technical results. To keep evaluation consistent, teams use a shared framework to map what they observe to agreed-upon skills and threat types. This creates a common language for feedback and helps compare performance fairly across groups. Results : Learners build a repeatable problem-solving habit: plan, investigate, explain and improve. Instructors can see how decisions are made, not just whether the right answer was found, and can focus coaching where it matters most, such as forming good hypotheses, handling evidence, working with others and communicating clearly. This approach helps analysts become confident faster and promotes consistent practice across teams. For organizations, the model creates an automatic way to measure readiness. Data from exercises including range results, scoring rubrics and observation notes form a skills portfolio leaders can be used to guide staffing, mentoring and investment decisions. Linking assessment directly to training shortens the time between identifying a skills gap and building capability. The result is a steady, future-ready pipeline of cyber and digital talent which is ready for the front line. The impact of the Cyber Range programme extends from individual learning to organizational readiness. Over four years, participants have shown: –Up to 40% faster incident response times after repeated simulations –Higher accuracy in root-cause analysis and containment –Improved team coordination and communication clarity Learners describe the range as “the closest thing to a real cyber crisis.” More than 75% of participants continue with additional modules or team challenges, promoting a culture of continuous professional growth. For organizations, Check Point provides a skills readiness dashboard that integrates behavioural data, technical outcomes and learning analytics. This gives Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and security leaders a real-time view of their team’s preparedness, allowing them to: –Identify and close capability gaps faster –Align training programmes with real-world threats –Optimize investment in human capital and cyber resilience New Economy Skills: Building AI, Data and Digital Capabilities for Growth 34

New Economy Skills 2025