The NATO exercise “Crossed Swords 2024” with the participation of about 200 cyberspace defence specialists from 40 countries, among which Poland played a peculiar role, ended in Tallinn. This time WOC officers and allies carried out tasks concerning planning and conducting offensive operations and operations.
The “Crossed Swords” (XS) exercises are organized by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CDCOE) as training with the implementation of offensive operations in cyberspace utilizing a virtual training environment. The main nonsubjective of the XS was to test cooperation in NATO associate States' cyberspace and to verify the chain of command in a stressful, realistic operating environment.
– We're expected to be a defence alliance. To realize the way our opponents think, we must besides master offensive skills. The deterrence in cyberspace is complicated, but we are inactive doing our best to guarantee the safety of our nations," said Dr. Mart Noorma, manager of NATO CCDCOE.
This year's XS edition (December 12–14) saw about 200 participants from NATO and outside the Alliance. Poland was a framework country in this group. – Poland was the leading country during the XS. Our officer commanded an allied offensive operation in a virtual training environment. It's a show of trust in ours. Cyberspace defence Forces and proof that our cyber soldiers belong to the world's leading team," said Colonel Przemysław Lipczyński, press spokesperson for the WOC Component Command.
Among the trainees were military specialists liable for planning and implementing complex activities in cyberspace, experts in digital forensics and incidental consequence (DFIR) analyzing digital evidence supporting decision-making processes at different levels of command, as well as specialists from another units that are part of or cooperate with national cybermilitary units.
The tasks were carried out at the alleged cyberpoly (cyber range) at the Cyber Innovation Hub CR14 in Tallinn. The script predicted that exercisers were working for the friendly state of Berylia fighting the enemy of Crimsonia. XS ‘24 in practice include penetration tests, industrial automation analysis, investigative computer discipline and the procedural conduct of offensive operations. Interestingly, the exercises were integrated with parallel peculiar forces maneuvers. However, the organiser does not uncover the details of this aspect of XS ’24, but is limited to stating that this has “enhanced cooperation between kinetic and cyber units in the context of multi-domain operations”. “On the modern battlefield, cyberspace operations are an integral part of kinetic activities. Very frequently they precede the impact of conventional forces. Cyberspace has become a battlefield. The best example of this is the war in Ukraine – the spokesperson for DK WOC points out.
"Crossed Swords 2024" was a kind of continuation of the "Locked Shields" (LS) exercise, which took place in April with 18 multinational teams (about 4,000 participants). Unlike the XS, where offensive actions were practiced, at the time of the LS there was about 6,000 virtual systems that were the mark of thousands of attacks. In the last 3 editions Natovian “Locked Shields” maneuvers all time Poles placed on the podium. This year they won first place (in a squad with Finns).
