Nato's cyber war game in Tallinn tests alliance's readiness against Russian aggression.
The two-day cyber battle was held 130 miles from Russia's border and involved hundreds of troops representing 29 Nato nations, seven allies, including Ukraine, amidst a complex attack on civilian and military digital infrastructure. The exercise tested the alliance's preparedness for a rolling enemy assault. Participants endured simulated power blackouts, jammed satellites, blocked ports, public chaos, malware attacks, and disinformation.
The game was set using storylines premised on Nato's northern defence forces responding to threats from its belligerent neighbour, Harbadus. The struggle was over an imaginary island called Icebergen in the north Atlantic. However, the theatre of war was international as Harbadus supported its hostile aims by weaving a complex web of global cyber-mischief.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte accused Moscow of increasingly reckless behaviour such as violating airspace and conducting cyberattacks. According to analysis by Microsoft, Russia increased cyber-attacks against Nato states by 25% in the year to June.
The alliance attributed attacks against allies and Ukraine to Russia's GRU military intelligence and also accused China of malign hybrid and cyber operations. Nato is considering being more aggressive or proactive in responding to Russian hybrid warfare.
The war game saw scenarios start small but quickly snowballed, with the Swedes dealing with an injection of malware into their email system used by their military base in Lithuania. Other allies faced similar parallel attacks, which eventually led to satellite systems being disrupted.
A multistage attack on a satellite internet provider was also triggered during the exercise, causing communications between space and Earth to be crippled. Participants were forced to rapidly communicate with allies, raise warnings, and share fixes as they struggled to resist digital attacks.
Nato is experimenting with an AI-powered chatbot to help human cyberwarriors cope with the complexity of cyberwar. The technology has shown potential in supporting decision-making, situational awareness, and command and control but requires careful checks on accuracy.
The exercise displayed how a problem in space can quickly affect every domain on Earth, resulting in chaos, multiple states of emergency, and even fake train schedules causing public panic.
The two-day cyber battle was held 130 miles from Russia's border and involved hundreds of troops representing 29 Nato nations, seven allies, including Ukraine, amidst a complex attack on civilian and military digital infrastructure. The exercise tested the alliance's preparedness for a rolling enemy assault. Participants endured simulated power blackouts, jammed satellites, blocked ports, public chaos, malware attacks, and disinformation.
The game was set using storylines premised on Nato's northern defence forces responding to threats from its belligerent neighbour, Harbadus. The struggle was over an imaginary island called Icebergen in the north Atlantic. However, the theatre of war was international as Harbadus supported its hostile aims by weaving a complex web of global cyber-mischief.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte accused Moscow of increasingly reckless behaviour such as violating airspace and conducting cyberattacks. According to analysis by Microsoft, Russia increased cyber-attacks against Nato states by 25% in the year to June.
The alliance attributed attacks against allies and Ukraine to Russia's GRU military intelligence and also accused China of malign hybrid and cyber operations. Nato is considering being more aggressive or proactive in responding to Russian hybrid warfare.
The war game saw scenarios start small but quickly snowballed, with the Swedes dealing with an injection of malware into their email system used by their military base in Lithuania. Other allies faced similar parallel attacks, which eventually led to satellite systems being disrupted.
A multistage attack on a satellite internet provider was also triggered during the exercise, causing communications between space and Earth to be crippled. Participants were forced to rapidly communicate with allies, raise warnings, and share fixes as they struggled to resist digital attacks.
Nato is experimenting with an AI-powered chatbot to help human cyberwarriors cope with the complexity of cyberwar. The technology has shown potential in supporting decision-making, situational awareness, and command and control but requires careful checks on accuracy.
The exercise displayed how a problem in space can quickly affect every domain on Earth, resulting in chaos, multiple states of emergency, and even fake train schedules causing public panic.