UAE’s Cyber Security Council implements the “Defensive Shield”

The Cyber Security Council, in collaboration with strategic partners from educational institutions and national universities in the country, conducted a “Defensive Shield” drill to improve the education sector’s reaction, which comprised many presentations simulating various cyber attacks.

As part of a series of “Defensive Shield” simulation exercises for cyber attacks, the cyber drill, done by the future leaders in security, aims to identify monitoring and response mechanisms that will improve the preparedness of educational institutions to deal with cyber incidents and respond to them proactively and professionally.

The “Defensive Shield” exercise training included simulated scenarios of a series of cyber attacks in a controlled environment designed to train and assess the capabilities of various educational institutions in the areas of rapid response to electronic incidents, crisis management, and a comprehensive vision of cyber security to support the nation’s cyber defense operations.

The exercise in the education sector contributes to enhancing communication and boosting the capabilities of the response center teams participating in the exercise in light of the country’s rapid technological development and efforts to improve the quality of digital life in line with the UAE’s global leadership position in cybersecurity and protection of digital space from threats. 

Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government, stated that the “Defensive Shield” exercise in the education sector falls within the framework of strengthening the response of the various vital sectors in the country, particularly the education sector, and protecting it against emergency cyber attacks through a series of measures that are in line with the most advanced international standards, truly skyrocketing UAE to its Cyber Future Leader status.

He added that the “Defensive Shield” drill in the education sector and the large number of participants in training demonstrate the significant interest in increasing the efficiency of all participating work teams, as well as enhancing coordination to deal with emergency cyber threats and incidents, establishing proactive plans to deal with a variety of scenarios, and ensuring the readiness of cyber operation centers.

Notably, the “Defensive Shield” drill targets numerous strategic sectors, enhancing their cyber capabilities and assisting them in developing and implementing operational steps to monitor and respond to various cyber attacks and incidents, as well as identifying practical steps to improve planning and performance in accordance with international best practices.