Organised by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, Locked Shields is a real-time network defence exercise which brings together close to 300 participants from 17 nations. Running over two days it puts 12 defending teams from all over Europe against one attacking team for a unique training and cooperation opportunity.
The aim of the exercise is to train the teams of IT specialists to detect and mitigate large-scale cyber attacks and handle security incidents. Although the scenario of the exercise is fictitious and the events take place in a specially built environment, the attack and defence methods used are from the real life. By making the exercise as realistic as possible, the organisers are giving the defenders an opportunity to test their skills under real-life conditions. In addition the teams will need to work together which will also help to strengthen the international security community by building trust networks, as well as sharing information and experience.
The 12 defending teams are Estonia, Finland, NATO CIRC, Italy, Spain, Germany & the Netherlands, Turkey, Latvia & Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Poland, Austria & Lithuania. The teams are participating from their home countries; exercise control is located in Tallinn, Estonia.
Locked Shields is an annual real-time network defence exercise organised by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence together with its partners since 2012. The exercise has a game-based approach which means that no organisation will play their real-life role and the scenario is fictional.
NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence is an International Military Organisation located in Tallinn, Estonia. It’s a research and training centre with an aim to enhance the capability, cooperation and information sharing among NATO, its member nations and partners in cyber defence by virtue of education, research and development, lessons learned and consultation.