The second phase of the largest cyber exercise in Europe - “Cyber Europe 2016” was held on 13 and 14 October 2016 in 30 European countries (28 EU Member States, Switzerland and Norway).
This exercise, organised every two years by the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), had the motto of "stronger together", stressing the importance of cooperation as a solution for resolving large-scale cross-border cyber incidents.
With the participation of about 300 organisations and 700 cybersecurity professionals in Europe, the exercise tested the mechanisms of cooperation at the national and European level in the event of cyber crisis, including training the capabilities of the participants. “Cyber Europe" thus has as its purpose of strengthening the capacity of the cybersecurity community in the identification and resolution of large-scale threats, understanding the concept of cross-border contamination and cooperation between public and private entities.
The 2016 exercise focused on political and economic action plans related to cybersecurity, reflecting the new processes and cooperation mechanisms provided for in the NIS (network and information security) Directive. For the first time, a scenario was set up which recreated the public dimension (public opinion, the media, companies, social networks) associated with a cyber crisis, thereby increasing the level of realism of the exercise.
Nationally, the project was coordinated by the National Centre for Cybersecurity (CNCS) and ANACOM. Both entities also participated in the exercise, with CNCS ensuring the carrying out of its duties as the national cybersecurity authority and national contact point for matters of cybersecurity, and ANACOM under the scope of its responsibilities as a national communications authority.
Portugal participated with 15 players, the public sector and the private sector, including authorities, regulators, internal security and defence entities and telecommunications operators. The exercise sought to train and establish links between the various participating entities.
The results of “Cyber Europe 2016" will be analysed by ENISA and the Member States and the main conclusions will be disseminated in a report to be published in early 2017.
Further information:
- Cyber Europe 2016: the pan-European exercise to protect EU Infrastructures against coordinated cyber-attack https://www.enisa.europa.eu/news/enisa-news/cyber-europe-2016
