ASTRI and Hong Kong Police Jointly Set Up Cyber Range Laboratory To Train Experts to Tackle Increasing Threats of Cyber Attacks

[Hong Kong, 20 July 2016] Hong Kong’s first Cyber Range Laboratory was launched today to raise the technical readiness of law enforcement and other major institutions against fast-increasing malicious cyber attacks on critical systems in the territory.

The Cyber Range Laboratory is a collaboration between the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) and the Hong Kong Police Force. Located at ASTRI’s office in the Hong Kong Science Park, the advanced facility is designed to monitor and simulate online attacks, and provides state-of-the-art trainings to cyber security practitioners in law enforcement agencies and financial institutes. It is equipped with advanced cyber attack and defence training management systems, as well as systems that can simulate tens of thousands of cyber attacks and hundreds of thousands of malicious software samples.

Government statistics show that technology crime cases in Hong Kong more than tripled from 2,200 cases in 2011 to nearly 7,000 cases in 2015; and the financial losses due to such crime cases increased more than 12 times from HK$148 million in 2011 to HK$1,828 million in 2015. In the face of increasing threats of cyber attacks, the Laboratory will effectively provide hands-on defence training exercises for the much sought-after experts in dealing with the issue.

“There are about 7 million cyber attacks at any one time around the globe. ASTRI has spared no effort in strengthening our city’s resilience to cyber attacks, which is vital for the protection of wealth of both citizens and companies. In addition to ASTRI’s Security Lab and Cyber Threat Intelligence Sharing Platform, the Cyber Range Laboratory will help train cyber security experts to prevent and combat cyber crimes in an effective and swift manner,” said ASTRI’s Chairman, Mr. Wong Ming-yam, BBS, JP.

2016-07-20 Cyber Range Lab Launching

(From left) Mr. Tony Choi, ASTRI’s Board Member, Dr. Frank Tong, ASTRI’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wong Ming-yam, BBS, JP, ASTRI’s Chairman, Mr. Vincent Tang, Assistant Commissioner (Infrastructure and Quality Services), Innovation and Technology Commission, Mr. Francis Chan, Chief Superintendent of Police, Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau, Hong Kong Police Force, and Ms. Carrie Leung, Chief Executive Officer, the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers, today perform a ceremony to officially launch the “Cyber Range Laboratory”.

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