Courtesy Photo | Attendees of the initial planning conference for Cyber Yankee 2025 listen to a...... read more read more
Members of the Connecticut National Guard’s Joint Cyber Team attended the initial planning conference for Cyber Yankee 2025 at the New Hampshire National Guard’s Regional Training Institute in Pembroke, N.H. Nov. 13-14, 2024.
The primary objective of Cyber Yankee 2025 is to improve the New England region's posture in responding to cyber incidents involving the Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR). To achieve this goal, all participants at the initial planning conference worked together with various teams to define a realistic scenario, confirm participation, determine range and tool requirements, and build partnerships.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) Support Annex “describes policies, roles and responsibilities, and the concept of operations for assessing, prioritizing, protecting, and restoring critical infrastructure and key resources of the United States and its territories and possessions during actual or potential domestic incidents. The annex details processes to ensure coordination and integration of CIKR-related activities among a wide array of public and private incident managers and CIKR security partners within immediate incident areas as well as at the regional and national levels.”
“The ultimate goal of [Cyber Yankee 2025] is to ensure that the New England region is better equipped to respond to cyber incidents involving CIKR,” said Fulsang, a cyber operations officer assigned to the Connecticut National Guard. “By achieving this end state, the region will be able to mitigate the impact of cyber-attacks, reduce the risk of disruption to critical infrastructure, and improve the overall resilience of its digital systems.”
Cyber Yankee 2025 is planning to build upon the three core principles that have guided Cyber Yankee since its inception in 2015: tactical-level focus, a scenario built around the CIKR, and building relationships across military, government, and private industry.
“As the world becomes increasingly dependent on technology and digital infrastructure, the threat of cyber-attacks on Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) continues to grow,” said Fulsang. “To address this threat, National Guard Units in Region 1 New England have initiated the formal planning process for [Cyber Yankee 2025]. This exercise marks the 11th year of a collaborative effort to enhance cyber defense capabilities and build relationships across the military, government, and private industry.”
Cyber Yankee is the premier regional cyber training event for defense, state and federal agencies, and key utility companies to rehearse prevention and response best practices. And, unlike other cyber-focused training events that focus entirely on threats against the DOD’s information network, Cyber Yankee is one of the few military exercises focusing on critical infrastructure and key resources directly affecting the American people.
This year’s planning conference had representation from multiple government agencies such as the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, defense departments like U.S. Cyber Command, Marines, Space Force, Coast Guard and National Guard from ten difference states, foreign partners from the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, and various state and private industry partners.
Cyber Yankee 2025 is scheduled for May 5-16, 2025.
| Date Taken: | 11.22.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.22.2024 16:05 |
| Story ID: | 485993 |
| Location: | PEMBROKE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Initial Planning Conference bolsters plans for Cyber Yankee 2025, by Timothy Koster, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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