The Cyber Shield 2018 cybersecurity exercise is part of the National Guard’s ongoing effort to be a versatile capability for governors of all 54 states and territories.
This is the seventh iteration of the training exercise. By working closely with interagency partners and the private sector, the National Guard seeks to strengthen network cybersecurity and leverage new and emerging technologies for homeland defense.
The exercise centers around two phases. The first week offers participants the opportunity to learn from leaders in military, government and the private sector on vital cybersecurity skills.
The second week challenges the National Guard soldiers and airmen as they face off against trained adversaries. The teams utilize their unique talents to defend networks and mitigate the effects of attacks against vulnerable infrastructure.
“This exercise provides a very technical defensive cyber ecosystem with a defensive cyber operations element training focus,” said Ohio Army National Guard Lt. Col. Teri Williams, the exercise commander. “Cyber Shield truly is a crucible where industry cyber talent merges with our military forces and the result is a more polished, tuned, and stronger response capability.