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Cyber Experts Games 24 USEUCOM team in action

Members of the USEUCOM Cyberspace Operations Advise and Assist Team, along with personnel from U.S. Army Europe and Africa, work through a simulated computer network problem during Cyber Expert Games, hosted by the Polish Cyber Security Training Centre of Excellence. (Photo courtesy of Cyber Expert Games staff.)

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Photo by: Photo courtesy of Cyber Expert Games staff 

USEUCOM’s Cyberspace Operations Advise and Assist team, along with three other members of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, participated in the Cyber Expert Games that were held in Warsaw, Poland, in early December.

The international exercise, hosted the Polish Cyber Security Training Centre of Excellence, included partners from the U.S., Norway, and Romania, as well as several civilian sectors of the Polish government who took on the role of twelve defensive cyber “Blue Teams” in an artificial computer environment called a “cyber range.”  The exercise focused on securing Industrial Control Systems (ICS) that were attached to data networks compromised by an offensive cyber “Red Team” that targeted various vulnerabilities on the range. Participants garnered valuable experience in rapid network hardening and threat mitigation in a contested network. 

The short, yet intense, exercise tested the ability of teams to adapt and overcome various cyber incident response scenarios. One scenario simulated typical cybersecurity oversights a company faces after a hastily executed business acquisition and merger. The massive adjustment in company structure rapidly changed the network system and administration structure, forcing the players to adapt to a fast-moving environment and use limited resources to strengthen cyber defenses and harden networks.

Incident response nuances were realistically captured in a series of scenarios spanning ICS shortfalls, router misconfigurations, and numerous cyber security gaps, requiring players to perform actual defensive cyberspace actions. Players bonded by sharing their tactics, techniques, and procedures that handled the exercise scenarios and could also be used in real-world situations back home.

This was the first time USEUCOM participated in the Cyber Expert Games. Based on a positive experience with this year’s event, the command’s Cyberspace Operations Advise and Assist team has already confirmed participation with Poland for Cyber Expert Games 2025.