From: NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE)

Next week NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) organises Locked Shields 2018, the largest and most advanced international live-fire cyber defence exercise in the world. The annual exercise is a unique opportunity for national cyber defenders to practise protection of national IT systems and critical infrastructure under the intense pressure of a severe cyber attack. Media accreditation deadline to the exercise is April 23rd.

In 2018 Locked Shields taking place from April 23rd to 27th will highlight the growing need to enhance dialogue between various experts and decision-making levels. CCDCOE integrates the technical and strategic game, enabling participating nations to practice the entire chain of command in the event of a severe cyber incident, from strategic to operational level and involving both civilian and military capabilities. Considering the current cyber threats that are concerning nations the most, the exercise will address the protection of vital services and critical infrastructure.

According to the scenario, a fictional country, Berylia, is experiencing a deteriorating security situation, where a number of hostile events coincide with coordinated cyber attacks against a major civilian internet service provider and military airbase. The attacks cause severe disruptions in the operation of the electric power grid, 4G public safety networks, drone operation and other critical infrastructure components. While the aim of the tech game is to maintain the operation of various systems under intense pressure, the strategic part should serve as a forum to understand the impact of decisions made at the strategic and policy level.

While the organisers of the exercise gather in Tallinn, Estonia, the participating Blue Teams have secure online access from their nations.

Locked Shields 2018 is organised by CCDCOE in cooperation with the Estonian Defence Forces, the Finnish Defence Forces, the Swedish Defence University, the British Joint Army, the United States European Command, National Security Research Institute of the Republic of Korea and Tallinn University of Technology. Industry partners in the exercise include Siemens AG, Ericsson, Bittium, Goodmill, Threod Systems, Cyber Test Systems, Clarified Security, Iptron, Bytelife, BHC Laboratory, openvpn.net, GuardTime and numerous others.

Media briefing, walk-through of the exercise and interviews with key experts will take place on April 25th at 15.30-16.45. There is also a possibility to visit the Estonian Blue Team at 17.00 the same afternoon.

For accreditation and access to the briefing, please send details (name as it appears in the passport, citizenship, passport/ID card number, list of technical equipment) noting if you would like to visit the Estonian Blue Team, to media@ccdcoe.org  

Media accreditation deadline is 12.00 pm (EEST) on Monday, April 23rd.