The North Carolina National Guard Takes on Cyber Shield 2023

Photo By Maj. Ellis Parks | North Carolina National Guardsmen and Moldovan Soldiers pose for a photo during the annual Cyber Shield training event on June 8th, 2023 at the Professional Education Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Cyber Shield is a collaborative training event that brings together various military branches, states, and nations to develop and maintain defensive cyber forces against network-based attacks. (U.S. Army photo taken by Lt. Col. Ellis Parks).  

RALEIGH, NC, UNITED STATES

06.16.2023

Story by Maj. Ellis Parks 

North Carolina National Guard

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - As the world continues to technologically evolve, the battleground advances into cyberspace where threats are imminent and innovative defensive tactics are essential to the nation's security and infrastructure.

Cyber forces are the first line of defense against online attacks to preserve safety and secure networking capabilities. Therefore, training exercises such as Cyber Shield are crucial to the U.S., our allies, and partner nations.

Cyber Shield is a collaborative and collective training event that brings together various military branches, states, and nations to develop and maintain defensive cyber forces against network-based attacks.

Cyber experts kicked off the Cyber Shield 2023 (CS23) on May 30th here at the Professional Education Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. National Guard servicemembers from 36 states, 15 international state partners from 5 different nations, and a host of civilian agencies came together to conduct CS23.

The North Carolina National Guard (NCNG) has always been part of Cyber Shield and Cyber Shield 2023 is no different. The NCNG assisted in almost every aspect of this year’s CS23 exercise. This year marks 10 years and Cyber Shield, and North Carolina has over 50 members participating.

“Cyber Shield is a critical exercise as it's often the only collective training many cyber units receive, " said NCNG Army Lt. Col. Seth Barun, deputy OIC of CS23. “We take that responsibility seriously and because of that, we start planning next year's exercise before this year is even over. We use feedback from each year to improve the exercise and incorporate new and emerging threats to ensure the training remains relevant year over year."

Cyber Shield is the longest-running and largest Department of Defense unclassified cyber defense exercise. The exercise is designed to develop, train, and exercise cyber forces in computer network internal defense measures and cyber incident response.

North Carolina is one of 36 states participating in this year’s cyber shield exercise. The exercise intent is to develop, train, and exercise cyber forces in computer network internal defense measures and cyber incident response. But having so many states participate in an event like this has secondary and tertiary effects. One of those effects is the knowledge you gain from working and training alongside other cyber teams.

“Cyber Shield is always a great opportunity for the North Carolina National Guard cyber team to collaborate with the other cyber teams from across the U.S.,” said Lt. Col. Brian Dodd, CS23 cyber security defense team leader, “the overall training is always excellent, but the knowledge the team members gain from working together is often the most beneficial aspect of Cyber Shield.”

As Cyber Shield 2023 comes to an end, the North Carolina cyber team is better prepared for the mission of defending the nation's critical cyber network infrastructure against all foreign and domestic threats.

“I am honored to be able to work with so many professionals at such a high level of expertise for a common cause,” said Chief Warrant 3 Michael Spivey, CS23 range deputy OIC, and developer, “ I believe Cyber Shield brings real-world training to military and civilian partners that offers so much value.”

• Date Taken: 06.16.2023
• Date Posted: 06.16.2023 16:21
• Story ID: 447380
• Location: RALEIGH, NC, US