DND/CAF Sweeps the Podium at U.S. Cyber Command “Cyber Flag 21-2”

July 26, 2021 - Defence Stories

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Royal Canadian Navy Commodore Matthew Bowen, Vice J5 – Strategic Lead for Multinational Partner Integration, USCYBERCOM, (left), J5 Multinational Partnership and Integration vice, accepts a plaque from U.S. Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone (right), U.S. Cyber Command commander and National Security Agency director, on behalf of Team 15, the champions of Cyber Flag 21-2, June 25, 2021. Courtesy of U.S. Cyber Command.

DND/CAF swept the podium at the U.S. Cyber Command’s (USCC) premier annual cyber training exercise, Cyber Flag 21-2 on 25 June, 2021. They came in first, second, and third, in an exercise that included 17 international Cyber Protection Teams (CPTs).

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from Team 15 are the proud champions of this year’s exercise, with Commodore Matthew Bowen, Vice J5 – Strategic Lead for Multinational Partner Integration, USCYBERCOM, accepting the award on behalf of the team. The RCN team consisted of members from C Navy, MARLANT, MARPAC, NAVRES, and DGMEPM. 

As Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone stated, “Cyber Flag 21-2 tested the best and brightest cyber protection teams. This exercise assessed their tactical cyber skills while collectively improving our cyber resiliency. I'd also like to congratulate the Royal Canadian Navy's Cyber Protection Team, the winner of this year's event."

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Royal Canadian Navy Commodore Matthew Bowen, Vice J5 – Strategic Lead for Multinational Partner Integration, USCYBERCOM, (left), J5 Multinational Partnership and Integration vice, accepts a plaque from U.S. Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone (middle), U.S. Cyber Command commander and National Security Agency director, and Command Sgt. Major Sheryl D. Lyon (right), USCYBEERCOM and NSA senior enlisted leader, on behalf of Team 15, the champions of Cyber Flag 21-2, June 25, 2021. Courtesy of U.S. Cyber Command.

Following closely behind the RCN team on the podium and tied for second place, were Team 14 (consisting of Canadian Army Reserves members) and Team 16 (consisting of RCAF, CANSOFCOM, ADM(IM), and ADM(Mat) personnel).

Cyber Flag 21-2, a tactical Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) event, brought together more than 430 cyber professionals from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, across eight time zones. This year’s exercise was five-times larger than previous ones, thanks to the leveraging of the USCC’s Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE).

This exercise had teams analyze intelligence regarding threats and malicious actors, conduct mission planning, ‘deploy’ to the compromised network, detect malicious activity and recommend response actions to the mission owner during an evolving event scenario.

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Royal Canadian Navy Team 15 received a plaque in honor of being named champions of Cyber Flag 21-2, June 25, 2021, presented by the United States Cyber Command in recognition of superior defensive cyberspace operations. Courtesy of U.S. Cyber Command.

The objective of exercises like this is to cultivate a community of top-tier DCO operators, elevate the training and readiness standard, and enhance the capacity of the U.S. and partner nations to defend against cyberspace aggression. This year’s success highlights DND/CAF’s amazing strides in developing our cyber capabilities, as well as cultivating and improving best practices, tactics and techniques among our allies.