Photo By Spc. Ryan Dunn | Emergency response agencies from across North America gathered in Seattle this week...... read more read more
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Emergency response agencies from across North America gathered in Seattle this week for Spectrum Cyclone, a groundbreaking communications training exercise designed to bolster preparedness ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and confront emerging threats in the digital and radio-frequency landscapes.
Held July 14–18, 2025, at Seattle’s Joint Training Facility, and hosted by Washington’s Emergency Management Division, the inaugural event drew participation from public safety professionals, IT specialists, and cyber response teams representing all 11 U.S. host states for the upcoming tournament, as well as a delegation from Canada, where several matches will also take place.
The training aimed to simulate high-pressure scenarios ranging from mass-crowd coordination to sophisticated radio frequency (RF) interference events and cybersecurity attacks that could cripple communications networks during a major international event.
“The World Cup will bring unprecedented traffic, scrutiny, and complexity to our cities,” said Jon Lee, statewide interoperability coordinator with the Washington Emergency Management Division. “We need to be ready for anything—from a downed radio repeater to a coordinated digital intrusion—and that preparation starts with integrated training like this.”
While much of the week’s focus was on interoperability—ensuring agencies across jurisdictions can communicate in real-time using compatible systems—the event also introduced experimental technologies to the field. Among them: the use of virtual reality (VR) platforms to visualize and map spectrum activity across multiple frequencies.
“We’re exploring how VR can help teams ‘see’ the invisible,” said Brandon Smith, emergency communications coordinator - telecommunications specialist, DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). “The technology allows responders to walk through a digital model of the RF environment, pinpointing sources of interference or signal anomalies in seconds instead of hours.”
The VR applications, still in testing, could give incident commanders a new layer of situational awareness in dense urban settings or large-scale venues—particularly useful during events like the World Cup, where thousands of devices and transmissions could be competing for bandwidth.
Spectrum Cyclone also included scenario drills focused on real-world RF interference events, simulated cyber breaches of infrastructure, and coordinated multi-agency responses to restore communications during a mock disaster. The exercise emphasized not just reaction, but mitigation and prevention, helping participants develop strategies to detect threats before they cause damage.
“RF interference can cripple our entire communications system,” said Lee. “If a single frequency goes dark or a control system is hacked, it could delay emergency response or put lives at risk. Just because a system goes down does not mean we can pause the event, we must continue working. These exercises help us uncover gaps before they’re tested in the real world.”
Lee stated this is the first training of its kind conducted in Washington state and one of the few national-scale exercises specifically designed with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in mind.
Organizers hope it will set a precedent for continued collaboration between host cities and federal partners.
“This is just the beginning of a much larger effort,” Lee said. “Spectrum Cyclone isn’t just about emergency response—it’s about future-proofing our infrastructure for everything the world stage will bring.”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest in history, featuring expanded teams and matches across 16 cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Seattle is one of the confirmed host cities and is expected to welcome tens of thousands of international visitors during the tournament.
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2025 11:05 |
| Story ID: | 543417 |
| Location: | SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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