Cyberwar Games

http://www.optimalrisk.com/Advanced-Cyber-Defence-Services/Cyber-War-Games
http://www.zdnet.com/largest-ever-cyber-wargame-tests-europes-defences-7000028871/

As cyberwar has increasingly gained attention in recent years, the popularity and importance of cyberwar games has been on the rise as well. As experts mention that it becomes more and more apparent that static security measures are one of the greatest risks of sophisticated cyber attacks, agencies are trying to strengthen their ability to recover quickly from cyber attacks and to resume normal operations.

In order to be prepared for destructive cyber attacks, a combination of sophisticated technology and managerial procedures is needed. The reaction of staff in the situational analysis, decision making and communication need the greatest improvement in a crisis. The general knowledge of organisations on cyberwar, their capabilities and their awareness of the threat of cyberwar can be elevated by the simulation of a cyberwar.

 Those war games generally consist of a series of desktop exercises and masterclasses over a period of two days. In the first phase attempts to create a familiarity with the general knowledge on cyberwar and how to manage it. In the second phase the game itself takes place. One team starts to attack the computer system of an organization, which is in return observed and accompanied by mentors through their response to these attacks. The whole process of attacks and counter-attacks are assessed and evaluated. The third phase consists of a workshop in which the war game is analyzed and the performances of different organizations are compared and contrasted.

Recently Europe’s largest ever cybersecurity war games have begun in order to test the cooperation of EU countries in the event of a cross-border cyber attack. More than 200 organisations will take part in this event, including energy companies and telecom operators.

The scale of this cyberwar game should also prove that Europe takes the threat of cyberwar seriously. The whole event is organized by the European Union Agency for the Network and Information Security (Enisa).

16 cybersecurity incidents which were similar to real life cases, were given to the participants. The results were then investigated and analysed by security professionals in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive information.