Regional Government takes part in national cybersecurity exercise - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

The Regional Government took part in the cyber defence training promoted this month by the Portuguese Army, as part of the CIBER PERSEU 2023 exercise.

This was the second time that the Regional Government took part in the CIBER PERSEU exercise.

The exercise is primarily aimed at putting the decision-making process into practice to guarantee a coordinated response to a cyberattack, practising cyber-defence at a tactical level to contribute to information superiority and ensure continuity of operations, and validating techniques, tactics and procedures in the area of cyber defence. It also intends to promote the sharing of technical knowledge with foreign military forces and other national military and defence entities in the field of cyberspace.

About 90 participants from various entities took part in CIBER PERSEU 2023. In addition to the national Armed Forces, the Security Forces and Services and a wide range of entities from the civil community, the academic community, the public and private sectors and the defence industry, the event included delegations from 13 countries (Angola, Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Cape Verde, Egypt, Georgia, Morocco, Romania, Spain, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America).

The Regional Government participated through a multidisciplinary team, made up of 30 members from the Presidency of the Government, the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Regional Secretariat for the Sea and Fisheries, the Regional Directorate for Communications and Digital Transition - DRCTD, the Institute for Food and Agricultural Markets - IAMA and Lotaçor - Serviço de Lotas dos Açores, S.A.

Participation in this exercise is in line with the Regional Government's commitment to remain at the forefront of cybersecurity preparedness, building the capacity of its teams to respond effectively to various types of cybersecurity incidents and ensuring that the Region remains resilient in the face of threats, while also promoting collaboration and cooperation within the cybersecurity community.

The investment in the Azores 360 Project - two million Euros, under the Recovery and Resilience Programme (RRP) - which aims to provide the Region with a Security Operations Centre (SOC) and the training of a Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), among others, are examples of this commitment to cybersecurity.

The Regional Government took part in the CIBER PERSEU exercise in mission MS04 - cyberattack on the public and private sector, a procedural mission.

Under the responsibility of the Land Forces Command and the Army's Communications and Information Systems Directorate, CIBER PERSEU held its 12th edition. It was created in 2012 with the aim of training and evaluating the ability to respond to the occurrence of national and international cyber attacks that could escalate into a high-level crisis in cyberspace.

This exercise provides training in security and defence procedures, techniques and tactics in cyberspace, and boosts cooperation mechanisms between national and international bodies responsible for global cyberspace security.

Link to CIBER PERSEU 2023 Video - https://youtu.be/gCoNWWbP4Zg?si=krW_qT6sPDBCDprF.