Security training and cyber exercise news, January to September 2026: what changed

4-1What does this recap cover?

This post covers announcements dated between 21 January and 24 September 2026 from the vendors on this site and from one industry report. Each item is summarised from the vendor's own announcement or a trade report, and vendor claims are reported as the vendor states them. We searched for dated announcements from every vendor we cover. Reflex Security's blog lists no dated announcements for the period, and we found none for TryHackMe or Conducttr, so they do not appear. The full list, with a line per item, is on the news page.

4-2How did AI show up in training and exercise products?

In most of the announcements. On 21 January, Immersive Labs announced AI Lab Builder 2.0, an AI In-Lab Assistant and an AI-powered crisis simulator for custom scenarios, with a configuration option to opt out of AI.

On 18 August, iluminr described an update that adds an AI Context Engine using business continuity and GRC data during scenarios, continuous capability testing through microsimulations, behavioural evidence such as decision velocity, confidence and alignment, live QR polling and automated regulatory reporting, rolled out to all clients.

Hack The Box published two benchmark reports on AI and human performance. The March report, as covered by Cybersecurity Insiders, found teams using AI reached 27% challenge success against 16% for the top human-only teams, and warned of a talent-pipeline risk in mid-tier tasks. The August research brief found that 68% of the top 25 teams in its 2026 Global Cyber Skills Benchmark used AI agents, and that median solve time fell from 26.1 hours in 2024 to 13.8 hours in 2026.

For a buyer, the question is no longer whether a platform uses AI, but what the AI does in the exercise and whether you can switch it off.

4-3Did exercising move into the SOC's own tools?

Yes, at Immersive Labs. On 27 January it added provisioned CrowdStrike Falcon environments on Immersive One, with training for Falcon Insight XDR and Falcon Next-Gen SIEM and an APT41 intrusion scenario. On 17 March it announced native exercising in CrowdStrike Falcon, Google Security Operations, Splunk, IBM QRadar and Microsoft Sentinel, heat maps for NIST CSF, NIST NICE, MITRE ATT&CK, D3FEND and ATLAS, GRC content for ISO 27001, ISO 42001 and SOX, and enhanced after-action reporting for Crisis Simulation.

The practical point: a range exercise on the tools your analysts use every day tests the team you have, not a generic one. Ask any range vendor which of your tools it can exercise.

4-4What analyst and accreditation claims were made?

• 11 March: Immersive Labs said it was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Cybersecurity Skills and Training Platforms, Q1 2026. Hack The Box also states a Leader placement in the same report on its business page.
• 21 July: Cyberbit said ANAB had accredited four RangeForce certificate programs, now part of Cyberbit Readiness, under ANSI/ASTM E2659, each ending with a hands-on capstone and aligned to DoD DCWF work roles.
• 29 July: iluminr said its microsimulations were included in the Gartner Hype Cycle for Risk, Compliance and Audit Technologies, 2026, for a third consecutive year.
• 24 September: iluminr said Chartis Research named it a RiskTech100 2027 Disruptor in risk intelligence and data management, from more than 900 firms evaluated.

These are the vendors' own statements about third-party reports. We do not use analyst placements in our scores.

4-5What changed in how access is sold?

Hack The Box announced HTB PRO on its blog on 21 September, with the post stating a launch date of 30 September. It bundles full VIP+ access, 10 Pro Labs, Pro Lab preparation tracks and SOC Range access (stated for Q4 2026) at $49 a month or $490 a year, and legacy Pro Labs bundles close to new purchases on 30 September. It is an individual plan, separate from the business pricing covered in our pricing article.

On 11 August, KnowBe4 released a free kit for Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, including posters in multiple languages, four tabletop exercise documents, training videos and modules, planning resources and webinars.

On 17 September, Cyberbit said it is the technology partner for the second cohort of She Protects, a Microsoft and CPX program in the UAE, which expands to more than 150 university students and recent graduates from November 2026 to May 2027 with hands-on labs on Cyberbit Readiness. The first cohort graduated 50 women in June 2026.

4-6What did the threat data say?

Mandiant's M-Trends 2026, published on 23 March, put the global median dwell time at 14 days for intrusions investigated in 2025, up from 11 the year before, and found that 52% of intrusions were first detected internally, up from 43%. Exploits were the most common initial vector for the sixth year at 32%, voice phishing reached 11%, and prior compromise was the top vector for ransomware at 30%. Our 2026 scenarios article turns these findings into five tabletop scenarios.

Sources

1. Immersive Labs, Secure With AI: https://www.immersivelabs.com/resources/press/immersive-announces-secure-with-ai-solution-to-command-the-ai-accelerated-threat-landscape-and-eliminate-readiness-lag-time
2. Immersive Labs, CrowdStrike Falcon simulations: https://www.immersivelabs.com/resources/press/immersive-bridges-the-gap-between-tech-and-operational-expertise-with-live-cyber-simulations-for-crowdstrike-falcon-r
3. Immersive Labs, Immersive One exercising: https://www.immersivelabs.com/resources/press/immersive-delivers-a-new-standard-for-organizational-resilience-with-immersive-one-expanding-secure-ai-enterprise-exercising-and-compliance-benchmarking
4. Immersive Labs, Forrester Wave: https://www.immersivelabs.com/resources/press/immersive-named-a-leader-in-cybersecurity-skills-and-training-platforms-report-by-independent-research-firm
5. iluminr, platform update: https://iluminr.io/blog/iluminr-advances-platform-to-transform-scenario-testing-into-continuous-capability-intelligence
6. iluminr, Gartner Hype Cycle: https://iluminr.io/blog/iluminr-microsimulations-recognized-in-the-gartner-hype-cycle-for-risk-compliance-and-audit-technologies-for-third-consecutive-year
7. iluminr, Chartis RiskTech100: https://iluminr.io/blog/iluminr-named-a-chartis-risktech100-2027-disruptor
8. Cybersecurity Insiders, HTB benchmark: https://www.cybersecurity-insiders.com/hack-the-box-benchmark-report-finds-ai-boosts-cybersecurity-productivity-3-4x-for-ai-augmented-elite-teams-but-cautions-on-a-talent-pipeline-risk/
9. Hack The Box, AI agents benchmark: https://www.hackthebox.com/blog/68-percent-top-cybersecurity-teams-use-ai-agents
10. Hack The Box, HTB PRO: https://www.hackthebox.com/blog/htb-pro-plan-announcement
11. Cyberbit, ANAB accreditation: https://www.cyberbit.com/news/anab-accreditation/
12. Cyberbit, She Protects: https://www.cyberbit.com/news/cyberbit-powers-second-she-protects-cohort/
13. KnowBe4, awareness month kit: https://www.knowbe4.com/press/knowbe4-releases-free-cybersecurity-awareness-month-resource-kit
14. Google Cloud, M-Trends 2026: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/m-trends-2026