NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE)

The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), as the Department Head for the Cyberspace Operations Discipline, held the 11th Cyberspace Operations Annual Discipline Conference on 31 March – 3 April at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.   This yearly forum brought together NATO’s cyberspace education and training community — from HQs and Education and Training Facilities— to align on priorities and pave the way forward in training and readiness.   What we covered: 📌 Strategic Training Plan reviews and Military Committee tasking implementation 📌 Review of Training Requirements and Needs, and Education and Training Facility (ETF) insights from NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre, Regional Department of Defense Resources Management Studies, NATO School Oberammergau, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, NATO Communications and Information Academy and Joint Warfare Centre 📌 Doctrinal updates (AJP 3.20 Allied Joint Doctrine for Cyberspace Operations), Education, Training, Exercise and Evaluation (ETEE) policies and Multi-Domain Operations training integration 📌 Course-job alignment based on Discipline Alignment Plan from 2024 (DAP24) 📌 Highlights from Naval Postgraduate School’s post-quantum cryptography and cyber research 📌 Joint efforts in e-learning course design (NATO School Oberammergau x NATO Cyberspace Operations Centre) 📌 Overview of Exercise Cyber Coalition and Multinational Capability Development Campaign The final day also looked to the future: setting the stage for the 12th Annual Discipline Conference in 2026, reinforcing alignment across national and NATO-level initiatives.   This conference is more than an event — it’s a cornerstone in shaping NATO’s cyberspace education for the challenges of tomorrow.

Locked Shields is almost here — but first, the Partners Run! Experts from the private sector, academia, and #defence institutions joined for the official pre-event of Locked Shields, the world's largest and most complex national #cyberresilience exercise. What makes Partners Run unique is that it brings our partners together to operate side by side in a demanding and realistic #cyberdefence environment. It's a chance to test new technologies, train personnel, and experience the speed, complexity, and decision-making pressure that national Blue Teams will face during Locked Shields. "Partners Run is where readiness meets reality," said Dan Cristian Ungureanu, Exercise Director of Locked Shields 2025. "We are grateful for all our partners who support this effort – the feedback and insights gathered here directly shape the main exercise and raise the standard of collaboration and preparedness across the board." This year's edition introduced cloud-based infrastructure, unexpected technical scenarios requiring rapid adaptation, and an upgraded scoring system with more targeted feedback. Blue Teams were deliberately pushed outside their comfort zones to build cross-sector competence and strengthen cooperation under pressure. The largest-ever Partners Run featured 14 Blue Teams made up of experts from: Telia, Siemens, Bitdefender, Ericsson, Dragos, Inc., KAPSI, Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse, The University of Adelaide, Polish Naval Academy (Akademia Marynarki Wojennej w Gdyni), TalTech – Tallinn University of Technology, Estonian Defence League and University of Tartu, University of Valladolid and University of Zaragoza, NLDA, National University of Public Service (NKE) and FH St. Pölten – University of Applied Sciences. Behind the scenes, more than 350 organisers built and ran a complex cyber conflict scenario spanning a simulated national infrastructure — making this year's Partners Run not only the largest to date but also one of the most ambitious. Partners Run 2025 proved once again that meaningful cyber defence cooperation starts with joint training, shared pressure, and trusted partnerships.

Last Friday, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) team proudly took part in the annual Scoutsrännak – a 30 km military-style endurance march organized by the Scouts Battalion of the Estonian Defence Forces. Now in its 22nd year, Scoutsrännak was originally created to celebrate the spirit of cooperation among Estonia’s services. This year’s event also marks the 24th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Scouts Battalion. Marching through the Central Training Area of the Estonian Defence Forces, our team embraced the challenge — and successfully completed it. Thank you to the Scouts Battalion for the experience and the opportunity to take part! 📷 Estonian Defence Forces, CCDCOE

This week, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) was honoured to welcome Niamh Smyth TD, the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment of Ireland, and James Sherry, Ambassador of Ireland to Estonia. The discussion focused on how CCDCOE supports member nations, and how national resilience can be enhanced by integrating cyber defence into all aspects of society and through cyberspace exercises.

📣 Call for Papers: Conference on the law applicable to the use of biometrics by armed forces The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), the War Studies Research Centre (WSRC) and the Amsterdam Center for International Law are organizing an international conference on the law applicable to the use of biometrics by armed forces, contractors working with armed forces, and ICT companies involved in military acquisition and procurement. The conference will take place on 23-24 October in Tallinn. We invite those interested to submit a proposal to present a paper at the conference by 📅 28 March. Please see more details in the The Call for Papers. 👇

📢 Registration for CyCon 2025: The Next Step is NOW OPEN! Join us in Tallinn, Estonia on 27-30 May 2025 for the 17th iteration of CyCon, a leading interdisciplinary conference exploring the forefront of cyber conflict. ✅ Explore cutting-edge research and technological advancements. ✅ Network with top experts and decision-makers from the global cyber defence community. ✅ Engage with 100+ cyber experts on stage. We are honoured to welcome Alar Karis, President of Estonia, for the opening address. This year’s confirmed keynote speakers include Gentlemen Hackers (Mikko Hypponen and Tomi Tuominen), Professor Ryan Maness (Associate Professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School), Dr Tarah M. Wheeler (Senior Fellow for Global Cyber Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations) and Dr Nikita Shah (Senior Resident Fellow at the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council). Original academic contributions from the Call for Papers will be presented in track-specific panels and published in the conference proceedings. Please check the CyCon website regularly for agenda updates! 📌Registration 📅 Deadline: 28 April Due to space restrictions, the conference is expected to sell out quickly. 👉 Secure your spot now: www.cycon.org See you in Tallinn! #CyCon2025 

For the third year in row, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) supported the undergraduate student competition tackling the issue of disinformation organized by the William & Mary Global Innovation Challenge (WMGIC). The WMGIC x NATO Countering Disinformation Challenge 2024 brought undergraduate students, academics, and industry professionals together to develop innovative solutions to pressing disinformation challenges. The new publication presents solutions offered by the seventeen winning teams who were selected based on their innovative, tangible, and sustainable recommendations to NATO HQ. The list of mentors and judges is also contained in the publication. Teams confronted disinformation in Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Russia-Ukraine War, Public Health, Sexism and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Terrorism, and Human Rights. Over the course of seven hours, teams devised solutions, advised by expert mentors in their selected topic. Each team then presented their solutions to a panel of judges who rated their proposals on the following criteria: feasibility and effectiveness, creativity, privacy, sustainability, and fiscal pragmatism. 🔗 Read the full publication in the CCDCOE Library here: https://lnkd.in/gZr5awBw

Happy Independence Day to our host nation, Estonia! Today, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) was proud to take part in the Estonian Independence Day Parade. Representing CCDCOE in the flag unit were Lieutenant Colonel Attila Bödör (Hungary), Major Adam Adamski (Poland), Major John Dall (Denmark), and Major Marko Arik (Estonia). Over 1,000 Estonian Defence Forces and NATO allied troops took part in the parade in Tallinn marking the 107th anniversary of Estonia's independence. The parade was reviewed by President Alar Karis and led by the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, Major General Andrus Merilo. 📷Estonian Defence Forces

Recently NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) had the honor of hosting Captain (N) Takuo Kobayashi from the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Forces to discuss cyber education and training, including exercises. 🤝

👉 Join the CyCon Team as a Volunteer! The call for the 17th International Conference on Cyber Conflict: The Next Step (CyCon) volunteers is open - we’re looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help make the conference a success! 📌What You’ll Do: ✅Assist at the registration & welcome desk ✅Monitor conference sessions & support speakers ✅Help the conference team with various tasks before and during the conference 📌When and where? 📅 26 – 30 May 2025 in Tallinn 📌Who We’re Looking For: ✅Fluent English speakers with great communication skills ✅Friendly, helpful, and reliable team players 📌Why Volunteer? ✅Free conference registration ✅Access to conference proceedings ✅A unique chance to learn about the latest trends in cyber defence & network with global experts! 👉 Apply now: https://lnkd.in/dNsXdb5H