Flare has launched Darkroom by Flare Academy, a free interactive training platform designed to give cybersecurity professionals practical experience investigating the types of underground environments where cyber threats originate.
The launch coincides with DEF CON 2026, where Flare will also host a live Darkroom event.
Unlike traditional cyber threat intelligence (CTI) training that often relies on reports and screenshots, Darkroom places participants inside a simulated dark web environment where they can explore real-world attacker tradecraft.
According to Flare, the self-paced training is intended for security practitioners, analysts, and students seeking hands-on experience with dark web intelligence and pre-breach investigations.
Key takeaways
- Flare launched Darkroom, a free hands-on platform for dark web intelligence training.
- The immersive experience simulates underground forums, stealer logs, and pre-breach investigations.
- Participants explore ransomware, infostealers, credential theft, cryptocurrency tracing, and threat actor attribution.
- AI-powered threat actor personas adapt scenarios based on participant decisions.
- The platform debuts alongside DEF CON 2026, with a live interactive event in Las Vegas.
Immersive training simulates real-world investigations
The training experience allows participants to investigate simulated underground forums, analyze stealer log archives, review breach data, and trace compromised identities through realistic investigative scenarios.
Participants are exposed to several common cybercrime activities, including:
- Initial access broker marketplaces
- Ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operations
- Infostealer malware
- Stolen credential distribution
- Cryptocurrency tracing
- Threat actor attribution
- Pre-breach intelligence collection
According to Eric Clay, Head of Research at Flare, understanding how attackers operate before an incident occurs is essential for effective cyber threat intelligence.
“Cyber threat intelligence is most valuable when defenders understand how attackers actually operate and how seemingly disconnected exposures come together before a breach,” Clay said.
AI-powered threat actors create adaptive scenarios
One of Darkroom’s distinguishing features is the inclusion of AI-powered threat actor personas that dynamically respond to participant decisions throughout the exercise.
Rather than following a fixed script, the scenarios adapt as learners investigate underground activity and make investigative decisions.
Practical threat intelligence skills remain a growing priority
As organizations place greater emphasis on proactive cyber defense, hands-on threat intelligence training is becoming increasingly valuable for security teams.
Simulated environments that expose analysts to attacker infrastructure, stolen credentials, and dark web activity can help improve investigative skills before organizations face real-world incidents.
Free platforms such as Darkroom also lower the barrier to developing CTI capabilities, giving security practitioners opportunities to strengthen threat hunting, attribution, and pre-breach intelligence skills without requiring access to live criminal ecosystems.