Cyber ​​Eagle 2019 completed: the Air Force tests the cyber defense of its air transport departments

The "Cyber ​​Eagle 2019" ended today, the exercise of Cyber ​​Defense of the Italian Air Force, which took place between the 10 and the 12 June under the direction of the Re.SIA (Automated Information Systems Department) of Acquasanta - Rome, the aeronautical department responsible for the cyber defense of the Armed Forces.

Also this year, like the 2018 edition which saw the participation of the 4 ° Stormo of Grosseto and the 36 ° Stormo of Gioia del Colle, the "Cyber ​​Eagle 2019" involved the Flight Departments of the Italian Air Force involving the air transport sector through the 46 ^ Pisa Air Brigade and the 14 ° Wing of Pratica di Mare.

During the exercise a team of military personnel, experts in the cyber sector of the Re.SIA, simulated dozens of critical events - from malware to infiltrate military networks, to cases of disclosure of operational data, phishing e-mails and data exfiltration from computers - to which the CIRT (Computer Incident Response Team), of the two Departments involved, have had to cope with adequate complex and coordinated defensive actions with all the components of the respective departments, starting with the chain of command, without neglecting the legal aspects and those of communication, guaranteeing the operational continuity of the aircraft and the mission of the departments.

The high technological connotation reached by the Armed Forces and, in particular, by the Italian Air Force, involves unquestionable operational advantages but, at the same time, implies an increase in vulnerability towards the cyber threat, which is increasingly expanding and increasingly changing. It is therefore essential to test, train and implement the defense capability of the system, through the "front line" involvement of flight departments.

"This exercise is the sign of an evolving maturity and helps to considerably increase the awareness of the threat and of the actions of contrast and mitigation. This is a clear indicator of the direction that the Armed Forces want to follow in cyber defense ”- declared the Air Force Logistic Commander, General of Air Team Giovanni Fantuzzi, on which it depends, through the intermediate command of the 3 ^ Division, the King .Both

Faced with the cyber threat, both in Europe and in NATO, targets were set for the achievement of strong and lasting integrated infrastructure protection capabilities. In solidarity with these objectives, in the field of CIOC operations (Joint Command for Cybernetic Operations), the Armed Forces are called upon to contribute, for the part of competence, to the integrated cyber defense of the entire Country System. In order to guarantee the necessary level of preparation of its personnel, the Air Force invests in training courses such as the Cyber ​​Eagle.

The Re.SIA, in addition to creating and managing application systems and procedures for the automation of logistic / administrative processes, is increasingly taking on operational connotations, both in the air navigation sector (with the provision of the AFTN service - Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network), both in the Computer Network Operations sector. It also deals with the training of personnel employed in the IT sector, as well as assistance to users of information systems of the Armed Forces.

Cyber ​​Eagle 2019 completed: the Air Force tests the cyber defense of its air transport departments

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