Europe's Largest Drill To Test Its Preparedness For A Major Cyber Crisis

In the case of the Czech Republic, one of the main coordinators is the CZ.NIC Association, through the CSIRT.CZ security team run by the Czech national domain administrator. The Cyber Europe drill simulates cyber incidents that escalate into a cyber crisis affecting the whole of Europe.

This week, a large-scale two-day drill called “Cyber Europe” will get virtually every country of the Old Continent involved. In the case of the Czech Republic, one of the main coordinators is the CZ.NIC Association, through the CSIRT.CZ security team run by the Czech national domain administrator. The Cyber Europe drill simulates cyber incidents that escalate into a cyber crisis affecting the whole of Europe. The primary organizer of this regular event is the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA).

A detailed scenario gives the participants the opportunity to analyze advanced cyber incidents and deal with complex situations in terms of business continuity and crisis management, including testing internal processes and legal procedures. The drill requires coordination and cooperation from its participants at internal, national and European level.

This year’s primary objective is to test the preparedness of the energy sector. Data centers, which play a key role in the functioning of digital infrastructure, have been chosen as a secondary target group.

This year’s Cyber Europe event will involve 26 EU Member States (all except France), Norway, the UK and Switzerland. The Czech Republic will see the involvement of the Ministry of the Interior (as co-organizer, thanks to the very active participation of the General Directorate of the Fire and Rescue Service of the Czech Republic) and the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (as the organization conducting the drill; the Agency will also assist in the selection of suitable entities and will participate in the evaluation). The ranks of state representatives will be joined by very active members in the field of cybersecurity, namely the Vysočina Region, which has long been a leader in cybersecurity awareness and education, and the National Center against Terrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime.

The energy industry will be represented, for example, by Pražská energetika, a. s. and its subsidiary PREdistribuce, a. s., ČEPS a. s., EG.D. a. s., ČEPRO and other prominent organizations. Datacentres will be represented by CESNET z. s. p. o., ALEF NULA, a. s., Masaryk University or Státní pokladna Centrum sdílených služeb, s. p.

“In addition to testing the organizations’ readiness, another goal is to test their cooperation and willingness to share information quickly and efficiently to help prevent problems from escalating, as well as to get to know experts in the field. The added value of the exercise is also the opportunity to gain new contacts in both the Czech Republic and Europe. I very much appreciate the willingness of Czech companies and organizations to participate in this important activity and I am glad that so many truly important entities have shown interest,” says Věra Mikušová, the main coordinator of the Cyber Europe drill for the Czech Republic.

The drill will include a public After Action Report, which will mainly evaluate the cooperation of the participants from all thirty participating countries. The evaluation will be carried out by ENISA together with the national coordinators – CSIRT.CZ, the General Directorate of the Fire and Rescue Service, NÚKIB and the Police of the Czech Republic.