Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Melissa Russell | 180619-N-RG360-0050 CORAL HARBOUR, Bahamas (June 19, 2018) Regional Security Systems...... read more read more
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CORAL HARBOUR, Bahamas –A cyber security training component was included for the first time as part of the annual Caribbean-focused exercise Tradewinds this year.
The inaugural element, which ran during Tradewinds 2018 Phase II from 14-21 June, included a cyber range provided by the Rhode Island Army National Guard (RIARNG). The range, a sort of electronic sandbox, gave participants a virtual area where they worked to detect and defend against cyber-attacks in real time.
“We’re revolutionizing how we’re doing our exercises thru the implementation of a cyber range,” said Mark McCadden, lead planner of the cyber security component of Tradewinds 2018 and a U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) theater security cooperation specialist. “This is the first cyber component to a Tradewinds exercise however, the implementation of the cyber range is new to both NORTHCOM and U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). This is the first time ever we’ve brought a cyber range into an exercise to give hands-on training.”
While participating analysts operated on the range’s simulated Combined Task Force (CTF) network to monitor, defend, respond to, and mitigate cyber incidents, members of the RIARNG injected cyber-attacks designed to challenge their skills in real time.
“We don’t normally have cyber-attacks or cyber connection,” said Lance Cpl. Kahile Pemberton of the St. Kitts and Nevis Defence Force. “This is a new thing for us and we could probably put some practices into place and implement them so that we could secure our information back home. (The range) is a very good tool to get to do the hands on and actually learn on.”
To help evaluate the effectiveness of the training Gulf Coast State College associate professor of cyber security Guy Garrett was on hand to provide feedback as an independent third party.
“We have been working with NORTHCOM since 2014 in a variety of subject matter expert conferences and in providing threat assessment exercises and third-party feedback from the world of academia,” said Garrett. “It’s important that everything we do is top of the keyboard, hands on.”
Such realistic joint training is valuable because helps to develop our nations relationships with other countries so that each can be better prepared to defend against cyber threats and work together beyond the exercise.
“We will potentially be sharing information between the partners that have participated here and helping them develop greater skills to defend their networks supports everyone because a threat in cyberspace is not a threat to one, but a threat to all,” said McCadden.
As Tradewinds 2018 ends the cyber security portion has received many positive reviews.
“The training from the U.S. was well received. It was a lot of new information,” said Royal Bahamas Defence Force Able Mechanic Anthony Gibson. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate. It’s been very informative and I want to continue learning as much as possible.”
In fact, the use of the range has been so successful that it may become a standard in the future.
“Based on a cursory review and evaluation of what we’ve done, we would intend to continue to run our exercises in the same way and bring the cyber range so that the operators get the real hands on training that they need to understand concepts and be able to take them back to their countries and do it there.”
Tradewinds is a U.S. Southern Command sponsored exercise that provides participating Caribbean nations the opportunity to improve security and disaster response capabilities. This year’s focus was on countering transnational organized crime in the region.
The Caribbean-focused exercise featured a total of 1,700 military and civilian personnel from 22 partner nations.
Nations that participated in Tradewinds 2018 include: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, France, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and the United States.
| Date Taken: | 06.22.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 06.28.2018 02:47 |
| Story ID: | 282571 |
| Location: | BS |
| Web Views: | 336 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Cyber Range Brings Realistic Training to Tradewinds 2018 for First Time, by PO1 Melissa Russell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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