Photo By Staff Sgt. Hannah Tarkelly | Maryland National Guardsmen from the 169th Cyber Protection Team pose for a photo...... read more read more
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Maryland Army National Guard’s Cyber Protection Team 169 conducted a validation exercise or “VALEX” for four CPTs from the Air National Guard and the Army National Guard concurrently during Cyber Shield 2024 at the Virgina State National Guard Reservation from May 31 to June 15, 2024.
Cyber Shield is an annual National Guard exercise ultimately designed to provide valuable experience in protecting cyber networks and to validate CPTs on their mission essential tasks or METs making them prepared for upcoming mobilizations. The VALEX coincided with Cyber Shield, and this is where CPT169 left their mark.
“The 169 has validated or revalidated over 90% of the National Guard’s 10 other CPTs since 2018,” said Maryland Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mosi Winder, CPT 169 cyber operations planner. “The 169 looks to partner with the Army Reserve to assist with their future validations.”
The CPT 169 applied their years of experience to redevelop previously used cyber training ranges to simulate realistic online environments and infrastructure critical for the VALEX. The Maryland soldiers divided their team into various sections to serve as network administrators, network owners, and threat emulation teams for each CPT validation.
“We are fortunate to have participated in the VALEX, especially this year in having validated four CPTs, one of which included our first Air National Guard team,” said Maryland Army National Guard Maj. Travis Lee, commander of CPT 169.
One of those validations included an Air National Guard CPT, a first for the 169th.
“The Air National Guard uses different equipment with similar capabilities, but we developed a way to make the systems “talk” in order to complete VALEX,” said Winder.
Soldiers and airmen of the 102nd Cyberspace Operations Squadron from the Rhode Island Air National Guard, CPT 177 from the Minnesota Army National Guard, CPT 176 comprised of soldiers from the Illinois and Wisconsin Army National Guard, and CPT 175, comprising of soldiers from the Tennessee, Alabama, and Kentucky Army National Guards were all validated by the CPT 169.
“We wanted to push those CPTs to their limits,” said Maryland Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Samantha Carrera, CPT 169 network analyst. “They all responded quickly and efficiently to every challenge they faced.”
Each CPT was given various scenarios and were required to overcome injects provided by the CPT 169. Every evaluated CPT responded appropriately for each potential threat and earned high marks from the evaluators.
“CPT 169 looks forward to continuing the legacy of validation during future exercises,” said Lee said. “It is our honor and privilege to represent the State of Maryland, the Maryland Army National Guard, and the 91st Cyber Brigade.”
| Date Taken: | 06.15.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2024 07:49 |
| Story ID: | 481773 |
| Location: | LAUREL, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 134 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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