Exercise Locked Shields involves teams from more than 41 countries. Brazil participated through the Cyber Defense Command (ComDCiber)
Air Force Agency, by Lieutenant Marize Torres
The Armed Forces, through the Cyber Defense Command (ComDCiber), took part in Locked Shields (LS), one of the world’s largest cyber defense exercises involving more than 3,500 professionals from 41 countries, promoted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (NATO-CCDCOE). The exercise, based in Tallinn, Estonia, was divided into technical and managerial activities from April 22 to 26.
The main objective of Locked Shields is to enable cyber defense specialists to improve their skills and response capabilities, under pressure and in real time, in the defense of national information technology systems and critical infrastructures, in the face of large-scale simulated incidents in cyberspace.
Brazil was part of the Blue Team, as a guest country working with a team made up of Spain, Chile and Portugal, with six military personnel in Lisbon and four in Madrid, from the Brazilian Navy, the Brazilian Army and the Brazilian Air Force. On April 22 and 23, in Lisbon, the Cyber Commanders of Brazil and Portugal held a working meeting with the aim of identifying possibilities for bilateral cooperation and structuring a Memorandum of Understanding.
The strategic phase of the activities took place on April 24 at ComDCiber’s facilities at Fort Marechal Rondon in Brasília (DF). Like the other countries, Brazil participated remotely and in isolation, with its multidisciplinary team of more than thirty military and civilian personnel assigned to ComDCiber. Professionals from different institutions in the country met to discuss the response that the Brazilian state would give to the most current and complex cyber problems. The questions aimed to provide managers with the opportunity to deal with crisis situations arising from cyber actions that are compatible with the latest developments in the world. The expertise of each entity involved was used so that the whole represented how each country would respond to the problem situations presented. Participants included members of the Institutional Security Cabinet, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Health, the National Water Agency and the National Telecommunications Agency.
According to the Head of the Cyber Operations Coordination Center, Air Brigadier Márlio Concidera Estebanez, one of the tasks of Locked Shields is to help strengthen the state’s cyber resilience and it is a unique opportunity to train in the application of best practices, at a global level, to solve complex problems arising from cyber threats. “Our participation in the exercise is a source of pride. At the same time, it gives rise to a commitment to remain capable at the highest level, in order to respond to the challenges of the Exercise in an effective and timely manner. It should be noted that ComDCiber does not ‘play alone’. Professionals from the various state structures are called upon to collaborate in solving the simulated cyber problems,” he said.
The Brazilian liaison officer in Estonia, who is coordinating the exercise, reported that the Brazilian team was among the five that responded the most to the problems posed. From the analysis of the questions, it was noted that the country has legislation, plans, policies and strategies for most of the issues in favor of strengthening Brazil’s cyber capacity.
National and international exercises
Until 2023, Brazil was the only Latin American country invited. This year, for the first time, Chile also joined. Invitations to other exercises, bilateral cyber relations and other indicators point to Brazil’s significant maturity in the area.
The Cyber Defense Command participates in national and international defense and cyber warfare exercises. At the national level, it organizes the annual Cyber Guardian Exercise, the last edition of which brought together more than 450 people from 123 organizations to discuss and practice cyber resilience of critical national infrastructures. In this exercise, in addition to the participation of companies and government bodies linked to critical infrastructures, the academic sector is also involved in identifying research and development opportunities related to cyber security.
Photos: Sergeant Müller Marin / CECOMSAER / CCOMSEx and ComDCiber *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***