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FBI gives first peek inside 22,000-square-foot town it’s built for digital crime training — the ‘one of a kind’ facility has a gas station, houses, and a data center with 200 hackable servers

1 hour ago

6 languages7 countries9 sources

AI summary

The FBI has constructed a 22,000-square-foot replica town at its Huntsville, Alabama campus, called the Kinetic Cyber Range, to train law enforcement in simulating and investigating real-world cyberattacks. The facility, opened in February 2025, includes homes, a gas station, a hospital, a power company, and a data center with 200 hackable servers, and has trained over 1,400 students from the FBI and other agencies.

How outlets framed it

All sources report the FBI building a fake town for cyberattack training, but framing differs. US outlets emphasize the facility's scale (22,000 sq ft), specific features (gas station, hospital, 200 servers), and its role as a modern 'Hogan's Alley' for digital crime, with a neutral to positive tone. Non-US sources (BR, IT, DE, FR, CN) focus on the novelty of a 'fake city' or 'model town' for realistic simulation, often highlighting the controlled environment and training purpose, with some (CN) adding context on rising cybercrime losses. Overall, the core event is consistent, but US coverage is more detailed and contextual, while others present it as a noteworthy innovation.

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FBI gives first peek inside 22,000-square-foot town it’s built for digital crime training — the ‘one of a kind’ facility has a gas station, houses, and a data center with 200 hackable servers — Gazetaro