WVU hosts international cyber defense exercise ‘LOCKED SHIELDS’

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — This month, WVU has partnered with the United States military to host “LOCKED SHIELDS 24,” a program that the U.S. government calls “the largest and most complex international live-fire cyber defense exercise.”

LOCKED SHIELDS—which is being hosted at the WVU Coliseum—has been run by NATO since 2010 and looks to simulate a large-scale cyber incident with a red team putting on an assault, and a blue team defending.

The event is staged by the Joint Force Headquarters – Department of Defense Information Network (JFHQ-DODIN) and will be based out of Morgantown during the third and fourth week of April with 3000 people across 40 nations participating.

The JFHQ-DODIN partnered with both West Virginia University and Marshall University due to the schools’ relative closeness to the organization’s offices in Fort Meade, MD. On top of the partnership, the schools and the JFHQ-DODIN plan to break ground on the National Center of Excellence for Cyber Security in Critical Infrastructure later this year, which will be housed in the Mountain State.

James A. Hoyer—the Vice President of Economic Innovation at WVU and the former Adjunct General for West Virginia—said WVU’s partnership with the JFHQ-DODIN will utilize the university’s research capabilities while also bringing students into “experiential learning.”

Major William Keber is leading the blue team during LOCKED SHIELDS. He said that one of the lessons they have learned in previous years is the importance of coordination, and not only coordination between nations, but also between federal and state resources.

“We all come from various backgrounds. Each of our nations have different laws, customs, policies, procedures from the organizations. All of that comes together and compounds challenges. Exercises like LOCKED SHIELDS really helps us work through the details,” Keber said.

To learn more about LOCKED SHIELDS, click here.

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