OCRI uses game to prepare for cybersecurity incidents
WLWT reports on exercise at UC that challenges staff to consider many perspectives
To prepare for potential cyberattacks and gain a better understanding of how public and private institutions would respond, the Ohio Cyber Range Institute (OCRI) at the University of Cincinnati hosted a cybersecurity exercise, WLWT reported.
The OCRI is a statewide, collaborative network that supports cybersecurity programs across Ohio. The institute’s goal is to advance an integrated approach to cybersecurity education, workforce and economic development in cyber-related fields throughout the state.
Staff members from the OCRI gathered at UC Digital Futures to participate in the Cyber Ready Community Game that was developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
In the game, staff members acted as officials for emergency management, a private sector business, local government, a community hospital, a community bank and a local utility provider. They had to allocate limited resources to prepare for a cybersecurity incident then respond based on scenarios throughout the game.
Like a fire drill, you want to make sure that everyone understands what to do. And so, the best way to do that is to have the alarms and then have everyone practice as if there's a fire.
Rebekah Michael OCRI executive staff director
Prosper Tornyi, a UC student who is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration in the cyber policy track, led the cybersecurity exercise.
“The goal for them is to get firsthand skills on the cyber readiness,” said Tornyi, an intern with the OCRI.
The OCRI provides training to help organizations throughout Ohio prepare for and respond to cybersecurity incidents. The exercise helped the OCRI staff consider how the organizations they collaborate with allocate their resources and how they would react to an attack.
“With cyber incidents, it's not if it's going to happen, it's when,” said Rebekah Michael, the OCRI executive staff director and an associate professor educator in UC’s School of Information Technology. “Like any other emergency preparation, you have to exercise something. So, like a fire drill, you want to make sure that everyone understands what to do. And so, the best way to do that is to have the alarms and then have everyone practice as if there's a fire.”
Innovation Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
When grief doesn't end: Nursing PhD students bring a classroom theory to Ohio families
October 29, 2026
Most of us think of grief as something with an ending. A loss happens, it hurts, and over time the hurt fades. For many parents of children with developmental disabilities, it doesn't work that way. The sadness can quiet down for months or years and then come back. It might return on the first day of kindergarten, at a cousin's wedding, at a high school graduation, or on the day a young adult ages out of school services. Nurses and researchers have a name for this: chronic sorrow. Last October, two University of Cincinnati College of Nursing PhD students helped bring that name to a room of families, people with disabilities and the professionals who support them.
UC engineers drones that know if they're damaged
October 29, 2026
UC engineering students are developing drones that can work in warehouses using a digital twin and others that can warn of damaged propellers or motors before a flight.
UC student's NFL internship leads to $20,000 gift to reduce loan burden
October 29, 2026
University of Cincinnati athletic training graduate student Savannah Posey interned with the Buffalo Bills during training camp and received a surprise $20,000 gift toward her student loans from safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson through his Ceedy Cares Foundation.