The training of Estonian power grid specialists, which will take place in the first week of June, will be carried out on infrastructure which is one of a kind in the world and which will also be used for Locked Shields, the world’s largest technical cyber defence exercise.
The week-long training will be attended by specialists from Elektrilevi, Elering, Viru elektrivõrk, and Enefit Power. The focus of the training week is on the protection of the power grid infrastructure, an area of strategic importance for the whole critical infrastructure, as its vulnerability directly affects the functioning of society.
During the training, power grid experts with an IT background will have the opportunity to solve practical problems on the CR14 cyber range and NATO CCDCOE infrastructure, which are unique in their design on a global scale.
‘The protection of electricity infrastructure is the cornerstone of the continuity of our society. We are proud that together with our local partners we can offer Estonian specialists a training that is unique in the world, allowing them to use ready-made infrastructure solutions instead of just attending a lecture. It is good to see that the training infrastructure developed by the NATO CCDCOE contributes not only to NATO, but also to the improvement of cyber security of Estonian electricity grid operators,’ said Raimo Peterson, Head of Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Department of RIA.
According to Peterson, international partners of RIA have also shown interest in similar training and it is possible that a similar training cycle will be offered to Nordic partners (NB8 CIIP Summit member states).
According to Erki Guhse, Head of Operational Technology and Business at Elektrilevi, such practical and realistic training provides valuable skills for Elektrilevi’s specialists. ‘Elektrilevi is paying more and more attention to the cyber threats specific to the power grid. Consequently, specialised training for substation engineers is a great added value for the continuity of our power grid. We hope that we will be able to repeat the training in the near future and offer this knowledge to even more power grid specialists.’
The training was commissioned by the Information System Authority and developed by the Swiss cyber security company ALSEC Cyber Security Consulting AG, based on international best practices and the latest cyber threats.
