The Connecticut National Guard is hosting the 12th annual Cyber Yankee regional cyber training exercise at Camp Nett. The event began May 4 and concludes Friday.
The event trains military and utility company cyber experts on cyber threat responses to threats targeting critical infrastructure. The first week of the exercise was classroom training. The second week splits participants into groups for tactical-level defense cyber operations exercises. Groups are assigned specific tasks such as infiltrating the infrastructure to cause harm, and installing mitigations to prevent attackers from gaining access, identify breaches when they occur and to respond to breaches.
“Cyber Yankee puts real operators from the Guard, federal agencies and private utilities in the same room, working on the same problem, before a real attack forces meeting,” Maj. Gen. Francis J. Evon Jr., Connecticut National Guard adjutant general and commander, said. “Gas, water and electric systems do not defend themselves. It takes a skilled team that knows how to work together to keep us safe. That’s what this exercise is all about.”
This year’s event includes personnel from the National Guard in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Tennessee; civilian participants from 10 private industry companies; representatives from the U.S. military; government officials; and international partners.