Education & Intelligence

The hands-on cybersecurity learning & threat intelligence platform

Archive256 lets you learn cybersecurity by doing, using real threat intelligence and live simulations. Free to learn, real labs when ready.

What is Archive 256 ?

A culture where security engineers are formed

Archive256 (A256) is a free cybersecurity platform with research, threat profiles, tutorials, and hands-on labs, built to take you from curious to job-ready.

Learn

Learn by doing, from day one

Structured paths that teach, drill, and then prove each skill, so what you learn becomes what you can do.

Hands - on learning

Real environments, not videos

Every concept is learned in a real environment. You’re doing the work immediately, lesson by lesson, building genuine skill

  • Structured, hands-on modules
  • Skill-specific labs to drill each technique
  • Free to read and watch videos, always.

Simulations & labs

Enterprise-scale simulations

Go beyond single machines. Practice on realistic, enterprise-scale environments, the simulations are where real skill is forged. These are paid, priced by the time you use.

  • Standalone machines and enterprise ranges
  • Realistic, multi-host and cloud environments
  • Time credited benchmarks on any fault of ours

Threat intelligence

Not just learning, real intelligence

A256 is also a threat intelligence platform. Work with live intel, monitor threats, and trace them, the way real defenders do

Threat monitoring dashboard

See the threat landscape live

A live threat monitoring dashboard puts real-world threat activity in front of you, so you learn against the landscape as it actually is.

  • Live threat monitoring
  • Real-world threat activity and trends
  • Learn against real landscape

Traceback

Traceback: follow the thread

Traceback lets you investigate and follow threats to their source, connecting the dots the way real threat hunters and analysts do.

  • Investigate and trace threats
  • Connect indicators to their source
  • Real threat-hunting workflow

The path

Learn, Prove, Certify

  1. 1

    Learn

    Modules teach each skill hands-on.

  2. 2

    Practice

    Labs and simulations to apply it.

  3. 3

    Prove

    Benchmarks test what you can do.

  4. 4

    Certify

    A human-graded Final Benchmark.

For schools & organizations

Bring A256 to your students or team

A hands-on cybersecurity program with real labs, threat intelligence, progress tracking, and certifications, managed from one console.

Talk to us

Pricing

Free to learn. Pay for the range.

Learning content is free and open. Simulations and labs are paid, priced by the time you use.

  • Free

    Everything you need to start learning, hands-on.

    $0

    Start for free
    • All learning content
    • Threat monitoring dashboard
    • Track your progress
  • Simulations & labs

    Range time

    Pay only for time in enterprise-scale simulations and labs

    $5 / hour

    Get started
    • Everything in Free
    • Enterprise-scale simulations
    • Standalone machines
    • Time credited on our faults
  • Certification

    A real, report-based, human-graded certifying exam.

    Final Benchmark

    View certification
    • Enterprise-scale exam
    • Human-graded report
    • Recognized AJAEQ credential