Teecht. National Guard Conducts Annual Nationwide Cybersecurity Exercise

By Army 1st Lt. Aaron Smith, Ohio National Guard

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. -- The Cyber Shield 2018 cybersecurity practise is business office of the National Guard’s ongoing endeavor to endure a versatile capability for governors of all 54 states together with territories.

This is the 7th iteration of the preparation exercise. By working closely amongst interagency partners together with the soul sector, the National Guard seeks to strengthen network cybersecurity together with leverage novel together with emerging technologies for homeland defense.

Two Phases

The practise centers around ii phases. The showtime calendar week offers participants the chance to larn from leaders inwards military, regime together with the soul sector on vital cybersecurity skills.

The instant calendar week challenges the National Guard soldiers together with airmen equally they expression upwards off against trained adversaries. The teams utilize their unique talents to defend networks together with mitigate the effects of attacks against vulnerable infrastructure.

“This practise provides a real technical defensive cyber ecosystem amongst a defensive cyber operations chemical constituent preparation focus,” said Ohio Army National Guard Lt. Col. Teri Williams, the practise commander. “Cyber Shield genuinely is a crucible where manufacture cyber talent merges amongst our military machine forces together with the outcome is a to a greater extent than polished, tuned, together with stronger response capability.”

Cyber Shield is likewise unique inwards the fact that it is planned together with executed past times a volunteer staff of National Guard together with reserve soldiers together with airmen over the class of eleven months.

Improving Cybersecurity

“The practise is planned past times a staff that is genuinely passionate close improving the cyber defence of our nation,” Williams said. “In working amongst this group, I’ve witnessed, firsthand, many talented, dedicated volunteers who are passionate inwards their shout out for to amend homeland defence through cybersecurity.”

The National Guard is uniquely suited for cyber operations if an incident occurs. Because of their condition equally a terra firma military machine strength when non nether federal mobilization orders, Guard units are uniquely positioned to answer chop-chop inwards situations where federal response may non ask maintain appropriate authority.

Moreover, many of these participants, beingness business office fourth dimension citizen-soldiers together with airmen, operate inwards the cyber champaign inwards the soul sector, which provides an sum of sense to this exercise.

“Individual technicians must accept their technical skills to collective together with collaborative levels inwards lodge to endure successful,” Williams said. “We are committed to providing our participants amongst challenging together with realistic preparation inwards lodge to protect our homeland.”

The cyber sense gained throughout the careers of these soldiers together with airmen volition endure position to the examination over the class of this demanding together with complex exercise.