Exercise Locked Shields 2017 has Ended

Defence Command
Publication date 28.4.2017 15.05 | Published in English on 2.5.2017 at 13.19
Type:Press release

The Finnish Defence Forces participated in the international Locked Shields 2017 cyber defence exercise 24-28 April 2017.

Locked Shields utilises state-of the art technology to conduct realistic cyber attacks in a training environment every year. This year the task of the blue teams was to maintain and protect the information systems and networks of an imaginary country's military air base. The attacks targeted for example the electricity grid, unmanned aerial systems and command and control systems.

Locked Shields has been held since 2010. This time the defended environment was more complex then in previous years: there were more operating and guidance systems linked to critical infrastructure. In addition to basic ICT knowledge, knowledge of automated systems was also necessary. This development enabled, for example, conducting complex cyber attacks, and as a result the blue teams faced over 2,500 attacks. " This year we were particularly successful computer forensics, that is in finding out and confirming events. Were were also successful in reporting and tasks related to legal questions", says the National Exercise Commander, Major (Eng) Anssi Kärkkäinen.

Reservists Praised for Their Commitment

The Defence Forces participated in the exercise with two defending teams, a national team consisting of reservists and a team of personnel from the Finnish Defence Forces and the Swedish Armed Forces. Personnel also served in the exercise command organisation in Tallinn. " Cooperation with the Swedes was smooth and we learned new things. Information systems -related terms are global, so there is no language barrier" , Kärkkäinen says. He particularly wishes to thank the effort of the reservists who voluntarily participated in the exercise. " The professionalism, motivation and commitment of the reservists shone through and was top level all throughout the exercise."

Cyber Knowledge Must be Expanded in the Defence Forces

The overall goal of the exercise was to develop the participating teams' skills and knowledge in preventing and reporting cyber attacks. The national goal was to develop the Finnish Defence Forces' and reservists' skills in repelling cyber threats and also to improve the cooperation with Sweden. Kärkkäinen thinks that the goals were met. Cyber knowledge and understanding must continuously be expanded in the Defence Forces

The exercise's multinational command element, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, in Tallinn was in charge of the gaming and preparing the training environment which included over 3,000 systems. Locked Shields is the world's largest technical cyber defence exercise: over 800 information security specialists from 25 countries participated in the exercise.

For more information: National Exercise Commander, Major (Eng.) Anssi Kärkkäinen +358299 566 800.