Finland's and Sweden's cybersecurity capabilities were tested in the USA's Cyber Flag exercise

The Finnish Defence Forces participated together with the Swedish Armed Forces in the demanding multinational Cyber Flag 25-2 cyber defense exercise held from July 7 to 16. The exercise was organized by the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) in Suffolk (Joint Warfighting Center), Virginia.

In addition to the USA's cybersecurity team, cyber specialists from over 20 countries around the world gathered to practice and share best practices for cyber protection. This year, experts from the defense forces of Finland and Sweden also participated in the exercise with a joint team.

USCYBERCOM enabled the exercise by utilizing a simulated environment created within the Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE), where real cyber threats are described. “In this environment, observation, isolation, and elimination of simulated threat actors can be practiced in a safe manner,” summarizes the exercise's national senior, Captain (eng.) Petteri Hanhimäki.

"The United States has invited many countries to participate in the exercise besides its own troops, and it is a fantastic opportunity to see how other teams also handle the setup of the exercise," adds Hanhimäki.

The exercise lasted a month, where Finns and Swedes participated in the first two-week part during the holiday season. This year, the task of the cyber protection teams was to protect operational and information systems environments designed for the scenario.

"The exercise once again provided good experiences and observations from the previous exercise could be utilized. The collaboration of the Finns and Swedes as a joint team was frictionless, but new areas for development were identified by both the team and the evaluation group," says Hanhimäki.