Cloud Range Wins Gold in 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards for Cyber Readiness and Validation

Cloud Range’s Cyber Range and AI Validation Platform Recognized for Advancing Measurable Cyber Readiness Across Human and AI Systems

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cloud Range, the industry-leading cyber readiness and simulation platform, has been named a Gold Award recipient in the Cyber Readiness and Validation category of the 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards.

The recognition highlights Cloud Range’s role in advancing how organizations measure and validate cybersecurity capability across both human teams and AI systems, moving beyond traditional training to demonstrate effectiveness under real-world conditions.

Security leaders today face a new challenge. It’s no longer enough to check boxes based on plans, certifications, or isolated exercises. Organizations must demonstrate that their teams, processes, and increasingly their AI models and agents can perform under pressure during active cyberattacks.

Through fully managed, live-fire cyber range environments spanning IT, OT/ICS, cloud, and hybrid infrastructures, Cloud Range enables organizations to test and measure cyber capability in conditions that mirror reality. In these environments, both human teams and AI systems operate against adversary-driven scenarios that unfold dynamically, requiring real-time decision-making, coordination, and execution. This approach reflects a broader shift in how organizations evaluate cybersecurity.

“Thank you to Cybersecurity Insiders for this recognition. I’m incredibly proud of our team and the work they continue to do to push this industry forward,” said Debbie Gordon, CEO and Founder of Cloud Range. “Cloud Range is reshaping cybersecurity readiness by redefining what cyber range platforms can do. As organizations move beyond episodic training to continuous, programmatic readiness validation, they must demonstrate the operational effectiveness of their people, processes, and tools, including AI. That’s why the Cloud Range platform continues to evolve alongside emerging tradecraft, automation, and technology.”

Each of Cloud Range’s high-pressure missions produces measurable data across detection speed, response quality, coordination, and technical execution under pressure. These insights provide leaders with clear evidence of capability, highlight gaps, and track improvement over time. Cloud Range’s program of continuous validation ensures that both humans and AI systems perform safely, securely, and effectively.

As AI becomes embedded in security operations, organizations must understand how these systems behave before they are trusted in production. Unlike tools that are simply AI-powered, Cloud Range’s AI Validation Range is purpose-built for AI. The platform enables organizations to test, validate, and train AI models and agentic workflows in realistic environments before deployment. It can also compare AI and human performance under identical conditions. That allows organizations to identify AI failure modes, supervision requirements, and operational blind spots, reducing risk while increasing operational efficiency. The result is faster adoption, greater confidence, and fewer unintended consequences.

The impact is measurable: 95% of Cloud Range customers report improved readiness following live-fire simulations, with teams gaining the experience and confidence needed to respond effectively to evolving threats.

“We congratulate Cloud Range’s Cyber Range and AI Validation Platform on earning Gold Award recognition in the Cyber Readiness and Validation category of the 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards,” said Holger Schulze, founder of Cybersecurity Insiders and organizer of the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. “Selected by an independent jury of cybersecurity practitioners, analysts, and CISOs, this recognition highlights the role of innovative security solutions in strengthening cybersecurity across organizations worldwide.”

The Cybersecurity Excellence Awards honor companies, products, and professionals that demonstrate excellence, innovation, and leadership in information security. The 2026 award recipients represent a cross-section of the industry’s most advanced organizations, including leaders such as CrowdStrike, Fortinet, and Cisco. See the full list of winners here: https://cybersecurity-excellence-awards.com/2026-cybersecurity-excellence-awards-recipients/

About Cloud Range

Cloud Range is a pioneer in cybersecurity simulation and readiness platforms, delivering the first full-service, cloud-based cyber range to help organizations test, validate, and strengthen their cyber capabilities before real incidents occur. Its platform provides realistic IT, OT/ICS, and cloud environments where organizations can safely evaluate how people, processes, technologies, and AI systems perform under real-world attack conditions. Used by enterprise SOC and incident response teams, managed security service providers (MSSPs), governments, higher education institutions, utilities, critical infrastructure, and many other industries, Cloud Range enables customers to measure team performance, assess candidates, onboard new hires, validate tools and processes, and test and train AI models and agents before deployment.

Cloud Range has received numerous industry awards, including the Global InfoSec Award for Visionary Cyber Defense Readiness Platform, the Fortress Cyber Security Award for Best Cybersecurity Training, the CISO Choice Award for security education and training, and the ASTORS Homeland Security Award for Best Cyber Defense Team Training. Learn more at cloudrangecyber.com.