Wisconsin's Cyber Response Team Participate in Cyber Shield 22

Thursday, June 23rd, 2022 -- 2:00 PM

Always Ready, Always There includes cyberspace.

Members of Wisconsin’s Cyber Response Team, the state’s volunteer resource for cyber incidents, and eight Wisconsin National Guard members participated in Cyber Shield 22, the Defense Department’s largest unclassified cyber defense exercise, which this year was held June 5-17 at the Army National Guard’s Professional Educational Center in Camp Joseph T. Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

Various teams served roles in the exercise. The Blue Team was the defender of the network, and the focus of the exercise. The Red Team was the enemy force, or hackers, trying to compromise the network.

The White Team was comprised of exercise observers and controllers, while the Gold Team was made of subject matter experts to provide instruction as needed.

The Green Team operated and maintained the network used for the exercise, and the Black Team took care of exercise administrative functions such as lodging and meals.

“Our Blue Team consisted of four Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers, two Minnesota Air National Guard Airmen, one Naval Reserve Sailor and two civilians from the Wisconsin Cyber Response Team,” said 1st Sgt. Michael David, an intelligence analyst with the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

“Additionally, we had a Soldier on the Red Team, two on the White Team, and a Wisconsin Air National Guard [legal officer] and a state civilian CRT member acting as network owner for the Blue Team.”

Wisconsin’s cyber contingent included members of the Wisconsin detachment of the 176th Cyber Protection Team, which in late 2021 returned from a 14-month deployment to Fort Meade, Maryland in support of U.S. Cyber Command.

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