DHS tests cyber response plan in global drill
The Homeland Security Department began its second day of a three-day global cybersecurity exercise intended to test readiness for large-scale cyberattacks.
The Homeland Security Department today led its first test of the National Cyber Incident Response Plan as part of the global Cyber Storm III three-day cybersecurity preparedness drill.
Seven federal agencies, 11 states, 12 other countries and 60 private companies are participating in the simulated exercise meant to test authorities’ readiness for large-scale attacks against the Internet and other IT infrastructure.
Cyber Storm III also represents the first major drill that uses the new National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center in Arlington, Va., which opened in October 2009 as the hub for national cyber response.
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In the three-day simulated attack, which began Sept. 27 and ends Sept. 30, participants are responding to more than 1,000 scripted events in real time. Brett Lambo, director of the Homeland Security Department’s cybersecurity exercise program, described the scenario to reporters recently as “the Internet attacking itself.”
The participants include:
- The Commerce, Defense, Energy, Justice, Transportation and Treasury departments, the White House, and representatives from the intelligence and law enforcement communities.
- California, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington state.
- Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
- Sixty companies in the banking, chemical, communications, defense, nuclear, IT, transportation and water sectors.