West Virginia National Guard, DISA lead U.S.-Romanian cyber … – DVIDS

The West Virginia National Guard, under the leadership of the Defense Information Security Agency (DISA), served as host for more than 180 technical cyber experts and supporting representatives from various federal and state agencies to compete on behalf of the United States/Romanian team in the world’s largest international cyber defense exercise run virtually by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia, April 18-20, 2023, in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Locked Shields, a CCDCOE annual exercise since 2010, enables cyber security experts to enhance their skills in defending national IT systems and critical infrastructure under real-time attacks. The focus is on realistic scenarios, cutting-edge technologies and simulating the entire complexity of a massive cyber incident, including strategic decision-making, legal and communication aspects.

This year, there were 24 friendly Blue Teams competing in Locked Shields from 28 nations throughout the world representing more than 2,600 participants. The exercise participants took on the role of national cyber rapid reaction teams that are deployed to assist their fictional country in handling a large-scale cyber incident with all its implications. The teams had to demonstrate effectiveness in reporting incidents, executing strategic decisions and solving forensic, legal and media challenges. The West Virginia-led U.S. team finished 16th overall.

“There were a number of objectives we achieved by participating in Locked Shields 2023,” stated Maj. Bill Keber, U.S. Blue Team lead for Locked Shields 2023. “First, we built interagency, intergovernmental and multinational cyber response relationships through the execution of this exercise. We also built a framework to share innovating and emerging cyber defense best practices and collaborated with the next generation of the cyber workforce through collegiate level student involvement. Overall, I couldn’t be more happy with how the exercise went this year and we look forward to improving our skills and competing in 2024.”

Exercise participants were graded on how well they protected their networks while following the established rules of engagement for gameplay. Participants from the West Virginia National Guard included West Virginia’s Army Interagency Training and Education Center’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Battalion Mission Assurance specialists, legal specialists, cyber threat and intelligence analysts, and public affairs experts to receive and resolve various injects of the simulated environment. Additional National Guard support was provided from Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland.

One of the highest performing teams for the United States was the legal team, comprised of members of the West Virginia Army National Guard, 130th Airlift Wing, and United States Army, who finished 7th overall in the exercise.

“Under challenging conditions, Blue Team 22 legal responded to multiple scenarios involving international aspects of the law. This team was a true joint effort, composed of attorneys from different services, nations and agencies. It is the most challenging, relevant, and rewarding legal training for cyber operations, and I couldn’t be more proud of the legal team and their performance,” stated U.S. Army Lt. Col. Scott Applegate, U.S. Blue Team lead for the legal track.

Partnered with the United States’ Blue Team were students from West Virginia University, Marshall University, West Virginia Tech, University of Hawaii, and University of Maryland Global Campus, who are in academic tracks ranging from engineering to cybersecurity, media, and law.

Additional agency participants included the Defense Information Systems Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, Financial Services and Information Sharing and Analysis Center, U.S. Treasury, Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Army Reserve, the State of West Virginia, Aerospace and Civil Military Innovation Institute.

“Locked Shields provides a dynamic and unique opportunity to exercise cyber defense capabilities for our service members and agency participants in a fast paced and challenging environment. By continuing to partner and collaborate with cyber experts across the federal government, private and public sector and our state government, we are building resilience and future capabilities for our state and nation,” stated West Virginia Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Bill Crane.

This year marks the 3rd year that DISA and the West Virginia National Guard have led the United States team for Exercise Locked Shields.