DHS to run cybersecurity exercise

The Homeland Security Department is scheduled to test federal and private-sector readiness for cyberattacks next week, an industry executive said.

The national exercise, named Cyber Storm, will take place Feb. 6-10, said Scott Algeier, executive director of the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC).

Cyber Storm is a federally mandated and funded exercise to “see how cyberattacks against critical infrastructure might play out and how people react to them,” Algeier said.

The exercise looks at cyberattacks on critical infrastructure that is not traditionally evaluated from a cyber perspective, Algeier said.

DHS’ National Cyber Security Division is leading the exercise and has developed most of the scenarios, Algeier said.

Cyber Storm will test how well IT-ISAC partners communicate with one another and with DHS in situations resembling real events, Algeier said.

The exercise will also help officials determine when federal intervention is necessary to coordinate a response, Algeier said.

IT-ISAC has eight members participating in the exercise, the center’s Web site states. The participants are Cisco Systems, Citadel Security Software, CA (formerly Computer Associates), Computer Sciences Corp., Intel, Microsoft, Symantec and VeriSign.