EDINBURGH, Ind., March 20, 2015 – Elements of the Army and Air National Guard, Reserve and partner agencies recently completed Cyber Shield 15, a two-week exercise designed to develop, train and exercise National Guard and Reserve Component cyber-capable forces.
More than 43 states and territories gathered at Camp Atterbury in Indiana with a focus on supporting the state and local government by training on simulated critical infrastructure networks, promoting collaboration and critical information sharing.
“It’s been a good experience for us because we do not normally get to operate in a joint environment. While we have been here we have had several good classes like the SANS CyberCity we participated in and learned a lot of new techniques,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2, Brian Cremeans, West Virginia National Guard.
The Computer Network Defense teams of the National Guard fit organizationally into each states headquarters as an asset to the governor for cyber operations for all 54 states and territories. Each entering the exercise with their own unique skills ranging from expert to beginner, added Cremeans. He said they are all looking to learn new techniques and learn from past experiences while sharing that information with other states.
“The folks in this field have a passion for it. They love what they do, they love getting on the keyboard and making a computer system safe, “said Maj. Mike Lass, Cyber Shield Exercise Coordinator.
A number of the Soldiers and Airmen who participated in the exercise also serve in the cyber industry for their civilian jobs.
“CNDs bring a lot of skill sets to the table because some of these members work with in the state or industry and are a traditional Guardsmen. Bringing that skill set to the local and state level as an extra layer of defense, is something the national level does not have,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Snowdall, Deputy Cyber Shield Exercise Coordinator.
Senior leaders and guests also got a chance to observe more than 350 cyber warriors battle and eradicate malicious invaders of computers related to industrial control systems. Demonstrating the techniques they had learned throughout the two week training held at Camp Atterbury.
Leaders also experienced a new training tool this year, the Cyber City by the SANS Institute. Cyber City is a real city with working infrastructure and power grids allowing for visual result of what the CND teams might be facing as a future mission in there state. Cyber Coordinators hope that bringing in leaders and commanders will let them visual see how cyber incidents can impact other operations.
Knowing that cyber world is constantly changing every day, the event ended with an after action review and thoughts and planning began for the next exercise.
“This is my third Cyber Shield exercise and it just keeps getting better each year as we adapt, change and improve it. It is something that needs to continue and we need to increase the participation as much as we can,” said MSgt. Joshua Spence, Assessment Team member with the West Virginia National Guard.
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