On April 13-16 the largest and most complex international cyber defence live-fire exercise in the world, Locked Shields 2021, is held by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) in Tallinn (Estonia). A joint team formed by the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence, National Cyber Security Centre, Lithuanian Armed Forces, Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, representatives of energy and private sectors is training in the exercise on Lithuania’s behalf.
This year the exercise highlights coordination across cyber defence and strategic decision-makers and their understanding of interrelatedness of IT systems. Participants of the exercise also will be challenged by different types of cyber threats to show their ability to protect from the cyber-attacks vital services simulated for the exercise and critical infrastructure.
Exercise organisers will test the cyber incident management protocols (covering strategic and operational level decision-making, and defence of civilian and military infrastructure and capabilities) used by the Blue Teams with a range of technical and strategic simulations.
The exercise is based on a scenario according to which a fictional island country Berylia undergoes a deteriorating security situation and coordinated cyber attacks against its main military and civilian IT systems.
This year the exercise iteration is held remotely: not only the Blue Teams but also the organisers will join via a secure connection from their home countries.
More about Exercise Locked Shields 2021 at: https://ccdcoe.org/
Photo credits: exercise organisers.
