Next week, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) hosts its annual Crossed Swords exercise, designed to train cyber specialists to successfully execute full offensive cyber kill chain operations in a simulated crisis environment. This year, the exercise will bring together 200 participants from more than 40 countries, including NATO and non-NATO member states, to practice and experiment in a field that is highly relevant in today’s world.
The exercise trains military command elements in command and control of offensive cyberspace capabilities and also supports the development of other operational domain and tactical skills related to cyberspace, such as information operations.
The training audience includes a Cyber Headquarters with a full planning staff, military cyber operators, digital forensic experts, and specialists from other units who are a part of, or work with their national cyber forces. Set in various fictional nations, the scenario involves a friendly state engaged in armed conflict with a hostile adversary.
The exercise benefits considerably from having academia and industry partners supporting the development of the exercise in order to make the endeavour authentic and similar to real world challenges.