CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. – Cyber Shield 2016 is a National Guard sponsored exercise that has been taking place at Camp Atterbury, Ind., during the last two weeks of April. Not only has an Indiana base hosted the event, but one of the Indiana National Guard’s newest units has been a major participant – the Computer Network Defense Team.
Maj. Michael Hannon is the Computer Network Defense Team Chief, a position he has held for the past three years, but this is the first exercise that he has had a full team that works and trains together.
“I’m looking forward to bringing the skills from the training and from the experience of the exercise itself back,” Hannon said. “We can develop procedures, policies, and techniques to continue training the team and be ready to work for real world situations.”
Cyber Shield 2016 is a defensively focused cyber exercise that is designed to develop, train, and exercise National Guard cyber-capable forces with more than 900 soldiers, airmen, Marines, sailors, and civilians from 47 states and territories. The Exercise Commander, Lt. Col. Henry Capello, says that the National Guard is finding out just how important keeping our infrastructure safe from cyber-attack is.
“Industrial Control Systems -- things like water treatment plants, energy grids, the power utility company uses these controls to turn gates on and off or valves on and off,” Capello explains. “If a bad person was able to do something to a petroleum plant or a pipeline, it would allow the gas to leak or allow the pressure to build up until it explodes. There could be man-made attacks that could cause catastrophic events with potential loss of life.”
The country’s infrastructure runs on computers and computer systems now. From the flow of water to the amount of chemicals added to our water supply to the transportation system and everything in between, computers are vulnerable to cyber threats, whether it be a locally uploaded virus or a remotely-loaded line of computer code that is all but untraceable. The training to catch a cyber-attack before it happens or does permanent damage, is one that must be done in tandem with those same industries, according to Capello.
For the first time, Cyber Shield has included industry partners such as water and electrical utility companies in the exercise, providing the real-world interaction that the cyber team would have during an actual event. According to Hannon, this partner training only helps if the time comes when the CNDT is called on.
“It’s also showing them how we can integrate into them,” Hannon says. “[Cyber Shield also shows] how they can help us improve our training and be more viable in the future.”
Now that the Indiana National Guard Computer Network Defense Team has completed their first exercise as a single unit, Hannon would like to see the team utilized in other traditional exercises.
“There are going to be cyber players in every exercise trying to exploit weaknesses,” Hannon explained. “That does have to be considered in all exercises, in all aspects of military operations.”
Hannon would also like for Indiana National Guard non-Cyber personnel to remain alert for any possible attempts to gain entry into their computer system by outside forces. Get the yearly Cyber Awareness certification and follow the instructions given in the training.
As Hannon says, “Always be vigilant. Don’t trust, verify.”
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160420-A-YX241-014: Instructor Tim Medin of the Sans Institute holds an after action review for Soldiers and Airmen participating in the Cyber City portion of the Cyber Shield 2016 exercise going on at Camp Atterbury, Ind., on Wednesday, April 20. (Indiana National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Brad Staggs, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Public Affairs)
160420-A-YX241-021: The Indiana National Guard Computer Network Defense Team (L-R: Staff Sgt. Jonathan Theriac, CW2 Joshua Adams, Cyber Team Commander Maj. Michael Hannon) meets with Lt. Col. Henry Capello, the exercise director for Cyber Shield 2016 in order to check connectivity prior to the start of the exercise at Camp Atterbury, Ind., on Wednesday, April 20. (Indiana National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Brad Staggs, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Public Affairs)
160420-A-YX241-026: The Indiana National Guard Computer Network Defense Team (L-R: Staff Sgt. Richard Dillon, Staff Sgt. Anthony Hill, Staff Sgt. Haley Brown, Maj. Michael Hannon, Sgt. Charles Powell, CW2 Joshua Adams, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Theriac) readies their workstations for the Cyber Shield 2016 exercise going on at Camp Atterbury, Ind., on Wednesday, April 20. (Indiana National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Brad Staggs, Atterbury-Muscatatuck Public Affairs)
| Date Taken: | 04.28.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 04.28.2016 11:49 |
| Story ID: | 196764 |
| Location: | EDINBURGH, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 299 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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