Montreal — U.S. Marines assigned to Defensive Cyberspace Operations-Internal Defensive Measures, Alpha Company, participated in joint training exercise Cyber Harmony 2024, with partner nation service members from the Canadian Army at the Royal Montreal Regiment, Quebec, April 27-28, 2024. Cyber Harmony is a force against force training event against simulated nations launching cyber-attacks at one another.
The role of DCO-IDM is to employ a set of protocols and strategies to protect and defend U.S. military networks, systems and information from unauthorized access, manipulation, or destruction by cyberspace hackers. Some of these measures include constant network monitoring, access control, encryption of these networks or sensitive data and regularly schedule security audits.
The goal of Cyber Harmony was for DCO-IDM to employ, maintain, and improve cyber capabilities and act as Defensive Cyberspace Operators. The exercise ushered Marines and joint NATO allies’ defensive cyber capabilities towards their training objectives via a digital capture the flag simulation.
This ensures readiness and adaptability to sudden cyber threats that may emerge as technology becomes more and more relevant every day.
“It strengthens our abilities by giving us a chance to work with our NATO partners in simulated cyber-attack scenarios and use tools we don’t usually use,” said Sgt. Justin B. Bryant, a cyberspace warfare officer attached to DCO-IDM, Alpha Company.
The exercise consisted of challenges presented on a web server that represented real-world systems. Each team was responsible for discovering vulnerabilities in the systems’ security and once accomplished, a flag would appear for them to “capture,” earning them points.
“We have servers and computers on different networks that are actively being attacked,” said Bryant. “Our job here is to utilize the toolset that has been provided to us to detect intrusions and neutralize any threats.”
The Marines served a multitude of jobs, including basic cyber operator and networking chief, –all with the goal of securing a more stable cyber security network for the U.S.
“The Marines that participated in Cyber Harmony 2024 will be leaving with an excellent example of what a real network attack on a protected system could look like,” said Bryant.
The Marine Corps Reserve provides trained units and individual Marines to augment and reinforce active forces for employment across the full spectrum of crisis and global engagement.
“In the world we live in today, technology is embedded in our society and dictates a huge aspect of everyday life,” said Bryant. “It is our responsibility to protect those systems and secure our data so that we may continue our way of life.”
Story by LCpl Juan Diaz
Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES)