📋 Tender Overview
This year's Locked Shields 2025 cyber defense and strategic decision-making exercise is being organized by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (NATO CCDCOE). The Republic of Slovenia is participating in the exercise together with representatives of the Italian Republic and the Colorado National Guard from the United States of America.Now in its 15th year, Locked Shields challenges multinational teams to defend critical civilian and military systems under intense pressure from realistic scenarios. Participants must respond to continuous cyberattacks on energy networks and communications systems, disruptions to critical services, political pressures, disinformation campaigns, and infrastructure crises -- all while coordinating technical defense, legal response, strategic communications, and state decision-making in real time. Approximately 4,000 experts from 41 countries are participating in this years exercise. The exercise aims to test the response to the full spectrum of cyber threats, including the preparation of decision-making proposals for strategic decision-makers, and to improve cooperation and enhance NATO and Allies ability to protect and defend cyberspace and conduct military operations in Alliance cyberspace. The purpose of the technical part of the exercise is to detect, analyze, evaluate and assess the level of a cyber incident in the environment of a cyber training ground and to implement defense against cyber attacks on information and communication infrastructure. The technical group will primarily emphasize knowledge of the legal regulation of information security and cyber defense and, accordingly, dealing with cyber incidents and indirect effects on ensuring security in the country and the alliance. The strategic part of the exercise will include dealing with unpredictable situations that require a quick examination of the situation, and preparing proposals for measures to prevent the occurrence of more serious consequences of cyber incidents. The purpose of including the strategic decision-making group in the exercise is to identify systemic deficiencies that arise from the horizontal distribution of powers and roles of state authorities in the cyber domain. The aim of the exercise in Slovenia is also to establish closer cooperation between the public and private sectors in the field of cybersecurity and defense, which is why, in addition to trainees from state authorities, representatives of commercial companies are also participating in the exercise. The participating economic entities are represented in the exercise by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia within the Cybersecurity Section. The exercise was also visited today by the Minister of Digital Transformation, Ms. Ksenija Klampfer, the Minister of Defense, Ms. Borut Sajovic, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Robert Glavas. Cyber Defense and Strategic Decision-Making Exercise Locked Shields 2025 | Author: Bruno Toic 1 / 2
