On 2023-06-22
Cybersecurity

Airbus Protect at the world’s largest live-fire cyber defence exercise “Locked Shields”

Airbus Protect - Locked Shields exercice
Summary

A premiere for Airbus. This year, at the invitation of the Bundeswehr Cyber Security Centre, a team from Airbus Protect took part in the NATO exercise “Locked Shields” for the first time. 

What is Locked Shields?

The exercise has been conducted annually since 2010 by the “NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Center of Excellence” (CCDCOE) and is the world’s largest live-fire cyber defence exercise, with more than 3,000 participants from 38 nations in 24 teams. 

During the two-week exercise, the 24 defence teams had to respond to real-time cyber attacks and protect a wide variety of systems. Participants were able to demonstrate their range of knowledge in IT/OT networks, operating systems, IT forensics, cyber defence, monitoring and much more. The systems to be protected were highly diverse and represented different IT infrastructures of fictitious companies, authorities and critical infrastructures. 

For Team Germany, Airbus Protect Incident Responder Markus Neumaier as well as SOC Analysts and System Design Experts Tobias Paßreiter, Stefan Hechler and Fabian Sylvester, among others, took to the starting line together with soldiers from the Bundeswehr and other cybersecurity specialists. 

The ultra-realistic simulation required the participants to quickly recognise and solve highly complex challenges, but above all to work as a team, cooperate and coordinate with other units. Markus Neumaier summarises his experience, “It was an exciting, intense and educational experience. The mutual knowledge exchange and networking definitely helped us move forward. I believe that such cooperation between industry and the military is essential for a good cyber defence of Europe”.

Airbus Protect has extensive experience in providing industry-leading cybersecurity solutions and consulting services to a wide range of industries, including aerospace, defence, transportation, manufacturing, energy, critical infrastructure, governments and institutions. The invitation to this year’s Locked Shields signifies a recognition of Airbus Protect’s expertise in cybersecurity and underscores the high-quality of solutions and consulting services offered.

  • Share

More on Cybersecurity

What the Shell? Accelerating Incident Response: Letting the Malware do the work for you Cybersecurity

What the Shell? Accelerating Incident Response: Letting the Malware do the work for you

Intrusion Context Last month, Airbus Protect’s CSIRT responded to an intrusion targeting a vulnerable, internet-facing Windows Server. What began as typical automated scanning quickly transitioned into a targeted attack utilising tools such as SQLMap and vulnerability scanners. By leveraging a flurry of SQL injection attacks, the threat actor successfully enabled xp_cmdshell which facilitated remote code [...]

Read more
The Perimeter Paradox: Airport Supply Chains and the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill Cybersecurity

The Perimeter Paradox: Airport Supply Chains and the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill

Regulations for Airports The legislative progression of the UK’s Cyber Security and Resilience Bill represents an aggressive modernisation of the ageing Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations 2018. For airport operators, this legislation fundamentally alters the boundaries of legal accountability. While the enforcement mechanisms, with fines capped at the greater of £17 million or 4% [...]

Read more
Beyond the alert: Engineering true resilience through a unified, AI-enhanced SOC Cybersecurity

Beyond the alert: Engineering true resilience through a unified, AI-enhanced SOC

Navigating the modern threat landscape is an ongoing challenge for UK Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and Government organisations. As cyber threats grow more sophisticated and regulations tighten, the limitations of traditional, isolated "black box" monitoring become more apparent. When a complex incident occurs, a flood of automated notifications is rarely enough to ensure continuity; teams [...]

Read more