Coordinating the tests in the attack scenarios is the center of excellence of the Atlantic Alliance for Cyber Defense, based in Tallinn, Estonia. More than 2 thousand operators from 32 countries were involved. The project would also have been extended to Ukraine 19 Apr 2022 A. S.
A mega exercise to test the efficiency of the cyber defenses of the countries that join NATO: it is the "Locked Shields'' exercise, coordinated by the NATO center of excellence for cyber defense in Tallinn, Estonia, in which about 2 thousand people will take part from 32 countries, including Ukraine, at least according to what was reported by the international press. The tests, which begin today, will last until Friday 22 April, for what has been defined by many as the largest and most complex exercise in the field of computer security that has ever been carried out so far. Precisely in the hours in which the exercise started, the alarm launched by the International Monetary Fund in the Global Financial Stability Report also came, in which it is emphasized that cyber attacks represent a global threat that could lead to "significant economic losses" and are persistent for different countries. The goal of Locked Shields, which takes place annually, is to periodically monitor and strengthen the skills and abilities of cybersecurity experts in the defense of national systems and critical infrastructures, to ensure that everyone has the know-how to deal with any attacks in real time. In practice, the exercise will consist in helping a member country that in the simulation is the victim of a large-scale cyber attack: a scenario that becomes more topical this year given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, characterized among other things from particularly intense activity of cybercriminals, in which Moscow's backed hackers were accused of attacking several government agencies, and attempting to compromise the country's electricity grid. According to what emerged in these first weeks of conflict following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to reports from the government of Kiev, several companies in the country were also attacked by Russian hackers. For its part, Ukraine has responded in turn with cyber attacks targeting Russia, organizing and coordinating the activities of a group of hackers who have made themselves available to the government. But beyond the scenario currently affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, cyber attacks are also increasingly affecting neighboring countries: this is the case of Finland, which has made it known that the government sites have been targeted by cybercriminals in recent weeks. The fact that the White House itself has raised the alarm also testifies to the increasing attention in NATO, with US President Joe Biden warning that Russia could launch a series of retaliations in response to the sanctions. using hacker attacks. At “Locked Shields” 2022 the presence of ten financial institutions is reported, including Mastercard and Banco Santander.
exercise