The intention is to prepare for real cyber attacks.
The exercise prepares you for cyber attacks. Adobe Stock / AOP
Cyber experts are practicing digital warfare this week to defend the fictional island nation of Berylia in a Locked Shields exercise led by the NATO Cyber Expertise Center.
Although this is a staged situation in an imaginary state, experts hope to prepare it for a possible Russian invasion while the war in Ukraine is ongoing.
Annual Locked Shields Exercise will be held this year in Estonia. The purpose of the exercise is to find and fill gaps in the cyber defense of an imaginary state. The timing of the exercise is important, as cyber attacks are commonplace due to the war in Ukraine.
In cyber warfare exercises, agents expect to face “hostile activity” targeting both military and civilian systems. The aim is to practice scenarios that are as realistic as possible given the current situation. It must be possible to react to these situations as quickly as possible.
Director of the NATO Cyber Security Center Ian West said To the Wall Street Journalthat the exercise is designed in part to make it easier for countries to communicate with each other in the event of an attack on common activities or technologies.
Last year, the team representing Finland finished second in the practice, when Sweden won. The exercise was attended by a training group consisting mainly of reservists, set up by the Defense Forces and assembled by the MPK. The Defense Forces has not responded to Iltalehti’s contact about this year’s participation, and MPK does not comment on the matter.