More than 3,000 experts from 38 countries are participating in the world’s largest cyber defense exercise from today in Tallinn, according to the press release of NATO’s Cooperative Cyber ​​Defense Center of Excellence (CCD CoE), which is headquartered in the Estonian capital.

During the four-day “Locked Shields” exercise, participants will protect IT systems “from real-time attacks and be trained to make tactical and strategic decisions in critical situations.”

“In addition to defending systems, teams must report incidents, execute strategic decisions, and resolve issues,” the statement said.

“Locked Shields is a training exercise that pits an offensive (red) team against defensive (blue) teams, made up of NATO CCD CoE member states and partner countries,” it says.

“The past year has shown us how important the power of cyber defense is,” said Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, quoted in the press release, referring to the conflict in Ukraine.

“Ukraine has strong digital skills, which means its state can continue to provide essential digital services even in wartime,” he added, stressing that “exercises like these are key to continued resilience.”

Established in Tallinn in 2010, the Cooperative Cyber ​​Defense Center of Excellence is a NATO-accredited research and training center engaged in cyber defense training, consultancy and research.