Defence Forces get locked in to defending nation of Berylia in cyberwarfare game

Irish Examiner

08-05-2025

'That's probably not a good thing,' says the director of resilience with Ireland's National Cyber Security Centre, Joe Stephens.
He was referring to a screen with "UNREACHABLE" printed on it which has caught the eye.
At the heart of the National Cyber Security Centre's headquarters in Dublin is a hive of computer activity that is Locked Shields — an annual international collaborative game of cyberwarfare, which is running for the week. The aforementioned screen relates to some aspect of the cyberdefence of the fictional nation of Berylia.
The 220 personnel present — made up of centre workers, Defence Forces members, and people from the tech industry — are defending the online sanctity of Berylia from as many as 8,000 lines of digital attack from a similar attacking team operating out of Tallinn, Estonia, representing the neighbouring "bad" nation of Crimsonia, with whom Berylia is at war.
The precise nature of what most of those present are actually doing is beyond comprehension, though Mr Stephens assures that everyone working on the game is as proficient in their field as one could imagine.
The so-called "StratComms" section of the room is interesting, however, and is intelligible to a layperson who spends any time at all online in 2025.
Here, the centre pushes to control the "narrative" in the face of Crimsonian disinformation (as the designated "good" nation in this conflict, Berylia does not dabble in those particular dark arts itself — though its existence is cheerfully acknowledged).
'Locked Shields' is an annual international collaborative game of cyberwarfare, which is running for the week.
An image is shown of the Crimsonian premier which the Berylian government has tweeted out to its followers, indicating that the man's word cannot be trusted, hashtag #CriLies.
Another AI-generated image shows a selection of media visiting the war's frontlines as guests of the Berylian administration, which is on a charm offensive as part of its ambitions to join the EU.
Mr Stephens notes that the air of calm around the room is at odds with the 'chaos' of the day before during the exercise, when the stress levels among the workers were at a peak as attacks came thick and fast.
Locked Shields, facilitated by Nato's cyberdefence centre of excellence in Tallinn, has been running for the past 15 years.
This is Ireland's second time to participate in the exercise, following on from 2024. This year, Ireland forms Blue Team 17 along with personnel from the US, Bulgaria, and Greece. Some 30 countries are participating this year, with the exercise run on Estonian time.
'We are proud to show that this is a capability we have,' Mr Stephens says, while noting that this proficiency in cyberdefence wasn't always the case.
This is Ireland's second time to participate in the exercise, following on from 2024. This year, Ireland forms Blue Team 17 along with personnel from the US, Bulgaria, and Greece.
He mentions the infamous HSE cyberattack in May 2021, when entire systems within the health service were written off by a devastating criminal attack.
'We weren't as strong then,' he says, though he notes that the war room which sprang up on that occasion bore a distinct resemblance to the one he is standing in now as the various arms of the Irish State came together to try to figure out exactly what was going on.
Cyberwarfare is now an everyday fact of life. To that end, Locked Shields serves as a sort of exhibition for the defensive skills of the nations involved. There is also a scoring system and a league table showing how the various countries have performed.
'We were mid-table last year. This year we're hoping to do a bit better,' Mr Stephens says.