During 2 global cybersecurity exercises and the CyberEXPERT GAME competitions, soldiers from the Cyberspace Command of the Territorial defence squad demonstrated their skills. In the exercises they turned out to be the best together with fellow Latvians, while in the competitions involving civil-military teams they finished third.
Exercises Cyber Baltic and Autumn. Soldiers from Poland and Latvia handled cybersecurity tasks best
– As a squad we have respective years of tradition in competing in virtual battlefields, both at national and global level, and our experience confirms this year's participation of WOT soldiers in Cyber Baltic, Cyber Autumn and in CyberEXPERT GAME competitions, says Colonel Piotr Osiński, commander Cyberspace Action squad (ZDC) Territorial Defence Army Command.
He stresses that the struggles were an chance for cyberteritorians to exchange experiences and good practices with soldiers from another allied countries and an perfect chance to practice squad action in cyberspace. The officer points out that cybersecurity in a modern planet where almost all aspect of the state's functioning depends on digital technology is as crucial as protecting borders.
"Therefore, the service of soldiers serving territorial military service and professional cybersecurity specialists is highly valuable. We are thus creating real possible that can support the Cyberspace defence Army," said Colonel Osiński.
Cooperation with Latvia
The ZDC territories have late participated in two-day Cyber Baltic exercises held in the area of Dyneburg, Latvia. Soldiers from the United States, Estonia, Denmark and Canada besides participated in the training.
For the duration of the exercise, participants were divided into teams in which respective Latvian soldiers were joined by 1 typical from the invited army. 8 teams participated in the competition, 5 of them included cyberteritorians.
“There was besides an American, Danish and Estonian on my squad that I was in command of, in addition to the hosts,” says Jacek, 1 of the soldiers of ZDC DWOT. He was fortunate to scope the winning team, but in the another 2 teams that stood on the podium, there were besides Poles.
However, as the cyberterritorials emphasize, the most crucial thing was not to compete, but to exchange experiences and play army allies. Teams have held, among others, drone exercises. According to Jacek, 1 of the tasks was to admit the designated area and read the encrypted password from the drone. The second group of the squad would then make the discharges of the loads for the designated target. The accuracy of the discharges and the effectiveness of the diagnosis were assessed.
Another task active radio-electronic combat. – There were hidden radio signals in the forest. We had to find them, the time and the number of devices found – says the soldier. Teams were besides meant to access the Wi-Fi network without knowing the password, as well as find the object based on a photograph with hidden message.
Online competition
Further cyber exercises were besides organised by the Latvian side. In Cyber Autumn, however, teams practiced remotely, from their own countries. “The Latvians launched their cyber-range, or cyberpolygon, and after connecting six ten-man teams the competitions began. Each squad included 5 Latvian soldiers and 5 representatives of another nationalities," says Jakub, another of the ZDC DWOT players.
Task scenarios included hacking into competitive organization systems, stealing data, or uncovering a hidden website of the opponent. – We broke the domain server safety utilizing a vulnerability in the strategy and managed to take over files with “secret” data. We did it without leaving traces – the soldier reports.
The full exercise lasted 24 hours, with the anticipation of a short rest. We went to sleep for 4 hours. After the break, we worked much better, we were the only ones who did the last occupation and as a result, the Latvian-Polish squad turned out to be the best – says Jakub.
Cybercurrency
Cyberteritorians besides tested their skills during the two-day competition final CyberEXPERT GAME, 1 of the most crucial training and training events for cybersecurity teams in Europe. The competition in Warsaw was organized for the 5th time by the Expert Cybersecurity Training Centre. Teams from six countries competed: Albania, Croatia, France, Latvia, Norway and Poland. Our country represented 5 teams: 4 civilian and 1 military from the ZDC DWOT.
– The teams were 10 and each player had a real impact on the final score. The competition covers all the most crucial aspects of cybersecurity, so forces request to be evenly distributed," explains Paweł, an officer from the DWOT Cyberspace Action Team.
On the first day, the teams prepared a strategy, and in the second they faced real attacks. – The key is command and coordination of actions. The commander must know where the opponent hits and what danger an immediate reaction requires," says Paul. Competition was very demanding. “Man is physically and mentally exhausted, but the satisfaction of gathering tasks is enormous,” adds the officer.
The squad presented by Orlen S.A. was best suited to the challenges. The second place was taken by a military squad from Latvia, and the 3rd was cyberterritorials from DWOT.
Candidates welcome
The DWOT Cyberspace Action squad is an army of specialists: computer scientists, analysts, auditors, programmers and drone experts who usage their professional experience to defend the state.
– The squad in 2027 will be converted into a unit of cyberspace activities, which is why we are constantly looking for candidates. More information on recruitment can be found on the website "Terytorialsi – Cybercomponent" – emphasises the Wr. Natalia Matyba, spokeswoman of ZDC DWOT.
