Cyber Discovery 2022
The Idaho Army National Guard hosted seven states June 4-18 for a regional cyber exercise that provided cyber security assessments to a dozen Idaho agencies.
The exercise, Cyber Discovery, provided a week of cybersecurity training for more than 50 Soldiers and Airmen from the Alaska, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming National Guards. Exercise participants received formal training from CISA on their Cyber Resiliency Review (CRR) assessment and methodology.
During the second week, teams were assigned to provided CRR assessments to the following agencies: the school districts of Blaine County, Caldwell, Fruitland, Melba, Mountain Home, Twin Falls and Vallivue; Gem, Power and Washington counties; Idaho Courts and Idaho Department of Labor. The teams assessed each agency’s cybersecurity efforts and provided real feedback to the organization for areas to improve or sustain on. Each mission partner received a brief and a 200-page assessment as part of the exercise.
The exercise took place within the framework of the Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training program.
“There’s a benefit for our team to have a mutual third party provide an overview of our controls with regard to cyber security,” said Jennifer Dvorak, chief information security officer for Idaho Courts. “It helps us understand where to focus our energy.”
IRT projects such as this excerise are typically “unfunded” by the mission partner, with the supporting National Guard troops utilizing their statutory drill and annual training days to conduct the exercise. Mission Partners recieve the assessments at no cost, providing valuable cybersecurity assessment feedback that would otherwise be fiscally out-of-reach. In addition, the assessment can be used by agencies to apply for grants for additional funding and improvements.
After completing the exercise, participants were able to earn a qualification in Cyber Resiliency Review and External Dependencies Management.
“The training from CISA was invaluable to learn how to properly conduct a cyber resiliency assessment,” said Master Sgt. Eric Wilkens, North Dakota Air National Guard. “The value of the training was taking that training and immediately turning around and utilizing it with a mission partner. We were also able to give back to a community partner, which embraces what the National Guard is all about.”