Signal
Submitted
Feb 1, 2026, 00:14 UTC
Locked Shields 2025, a major cyber defense exercise involving 4,000 experts from 41 countries, started in Tallinn on May 6 to test national and critical infrastructure cyber defenses under live-fire conditions.
Locked Shields 2025, recognized as the world's most complex cyber defense exercise, kicked off in Tallinn on May 6, 2025. This year’s exercise engages 4,000 cyber security professionals from 41 nations, organized into 17 teams. Participants simulate defending key national systems and critical infrastructure against intense cyber attacks reflecting realistic and evolving global threats. Coordinated by NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), the exercise promotes international cooperation, readiness, and sharing of best practices in cyber defense. It reflects ongoing concerns about cyber threats targeting allied countries and the importance of joint preparedness to mitigate such risks.
Confidence: High
The event clearly describes an alliance-led cyber defense exercise involving multiple allied nations to prepare and strengthen defenses against cyber threats. There is no indication of adversarial offensive actions occurring in this event, thus it is categorized solely as defense preparation.
Source URL
https://news.err.ee/1609685636/locked-shields-2025-cyber-defense-exercise-gets-underway-in-tallinn&app_id=726183068022802
Published as a Defense Preparations signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.
{
"id": "15c96f85-2ee8-4148-9000-6c7cd8fc7509",
"url": "https://news.err.ee/1609685636/locked-shields-2025-cyber-defense-exercise-gets-underway-in-tallinn&app_id=726183068022802",
"source": "csv-import",
"status": "approved",
"category": "Cyber & Information Warfare",
"subcategory": "Cyber Attacks",
"incident_type": "Attacks on critical infrastructure (energy, transport, hospitals)",
"country": "Estonia",
"source_reliability": "C",
"info_credibility": "3",
"tags": [
"cyber defense exercise",
"Locked Shields 2025",
"NATO CCDCOE",
"offensive cyber operations",
"Tallinn",
"international cooperation",
"critical infrastructure protection",
"live-fire exercise",
"41 nations",
"4,000 experts"
],
"nodes": [
"Node 2: 5th Column"
],
"countries": [
"Estonia"
],
"where_text": "Cyberspace",
"headline": "Locked Shields 2025 cyber defense exercise gets underway in Tallinn",
"description": "Locked Shields 2025, the world's most complex live-fire cyber defense exercise, began this week in Tallinn. The exercise involves 4,000 cyber security experts from 41 nations organized into 17 teams tasked with defending national systems and critical infrastructure in a high-pressure scenario emulating current cyber threats. It is coordinated by NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). The event fosters collaboration and resilience among allied cyber defense forces amidst evolving global cyber threat landscapes.",
"summary_short": "Locked Shields 2025, a major cyber defense exercise involving 4,000 experts from 41 countries, started in Tallinn on May 6 to test national and critical infrastructure cyber defenses under live-fire conditions.",
"summary_extended": "Locked Shields 2025, recognized as the world's most complex cyber defense exercise, kicked off in Tallinn on May 6, 2025. This year’s exercise engages 4,000 cyber security professionals from 41 nations, organized into 17 teams. Participants simulate defending key national systems and critical infrastructure against intense cyber attacks reflecting realistic and evolving global threats. Coordinated by NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), the exercise promotes international cooperation, readiness, and sharing of best practices in cyber defense. It reflects ongoing concerns about cyber threats targeting allied countries and the importance of joint preparedness to mitigate such risks.",
"actor_primary": null,
"target_primary": null,
"location_text": "Tallinn",
"location_region": null,
"location_coordinates_lat": null,
"location_coordinates_lon": null,
"location_precision": "Unknown",
"is_aggressor_signal": false,
"signal_type": "DEFENSE_PREP_SIGNAL",
"is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
"classification_complete": true,
"hybrid_signal_complete": true,
"classification_confidence": "High",
"classification_rationale": "The event clearly describes an alliance-led cyber defense exercise involving multiple allied nations to prepare and strengthen defenses against cyber threats. There is no indication of adversarial offensive actions occurring in this event, thus it is categorized solely as defense preparation.",
"event_time_utc": "2025-05-06T00:00:00.000Z",
"end_time_utc": null,
"event_time_confidence": "pm24h",
"created_at": "2026-02-01T00:14:25.075Z",
"updated_at": "2026-11-09T01:12:39.052Z",
"reliability_band": "strong",
"location_precision_band": "unknown",
"time_precision_band": "within_24h",
"severity_band": "minor",
"attribution_confidence_band": "high",
"attribution_basis": "single_source"
}Source reliability
C
Info credibility
3
Event time
May 6, 2025, 00:00 UTC
Event time confidence
pm24h
Location
Tallinn
Country
Estonia
Countries
Estonia
Tags
cyber defense exercise, Locked Shields 2025, NATO CCDCOE, offensive cyber operations, Tallinn, international cooperation, critical infrastructure protection, live-fire exercise, 41 nations, 4,000 experts
Nodes
Node 2: 5th Column
Signal
Submitted
Feb 1, 2026, 00:14 UTC
Locked Shields 2025, a major cyber defense exercise involving 4,000 experts from 41 countries, started in Tallinn on May 6 to test national and critical infrastructure cyber defenses under live-fire conditions.
Locked Shields 2025, recognized as the world's most complex cyber defense exercise, kicked off in Tallinn on May 6, 2025. This year’s exercise engages 4,000 cyber security professionals from 41 nations, organized into 17 teams. Participants simulate defending key national systems and critical infrastructure against intense cyber attacks reflecting realistic and evolving global threats. Coordinated by NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), the exercise promotes international cooperation, readiness, and sharing of best practices in cyber defense. It reflects ongoing concerns about cyber threats targeting allied countries and the importance of joint preparedness to mitigate such risks.
Confidence: High
The event clearly describes an alliance-led cyber defense exercise involving multiple allied nations to prepare and strengthen defenses against cyber threats. There is no indication of adversarial offensive actions occurring in this event, thus it is categorized solely as defense preparation.
Source URL
https://news.err.ee/1609685636/locked-shields-2025-cyber-defense-exercise-gets-underway-in-tallinn&app_id=726183068022802
Published as a Defense Preparations signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.
{
"id": "15c96f85-2ee8-4148-9000-6c7cd8fc7509",
"url": "https://news.err.ee/1609685636/locked-shields-2025-cyber-defense-exercise-gets-underway-in-tallinn&app_id=726183068022802",
"source": "csv-import",
"status": "approved",
"category": "Cyber & Information Warfare",
"subcategory": "Cyber Attacks",
"incident_type": "Attacks on critical infrastructure (energy, transport, hospitals)",
"country": "Estonia",
"source_reliability": "C",
"info_credibility": "3",
"tags": [
"cyber defense exercise",
"Locked Shields 2025",
"NATO CCDCOE",
"offensive cyber operations",
"Tallinn",
"international cooperation",
"critical infrastructure protection",
"live-fire exercise",
"41 nations",
"4,000 experts"
],
"nodes": [
"Node 2: 5th Column"
],
"countries": [
"Estonia"
],
"where_text": "Cyberspace",
"headline": "Locked Shields 2025 cyber defense exercise gets underway in Tallinn",
"description": "Locked Shields 2025, the world's most complex live-fire cyber defense exercise, began this week in Tallinn. The exercise involves 4,000 cyber security experts from 41 nations organized into 17 teams tasked with defending national systems and critical infrastructure in a high-pressure scenario emulating current cyber threats. It is coordinated by NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). The event fosters collaboration and resilience among allied cyber defense forces amidst evolving global cyber threat landscapes.",
"summary_short": "Locked Shields 2025, a major cyber defense exercise involving 4,000 experts from 41 countries, started in Tallinn on May 6 to test national and critical infrastructure cyber defenses under live-fire conditions.",
"summary_extended": "Locked Shields 2025, recognized as the world's most complex cyber defense exercise, kicked off in Tallinn on May 6, 2025. This year’s exercise engages 4,000 cyber security professionals from 41 nations, organized into 17 teams. Participants simulate defending key national systems and critical infrastructure against intense cyber attacks reflecting realistic and evolving global threats. Coordinated by NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), the exercise promotes international cooperation, readiness, and sharing of best practices in cyber defense. It reflects ongoing concerns about cyber threats targeting allied countries and the importance of joint preparedness to mitigate such risks.",
"actor_primary": null,
"target_primary": null,
"location_text": "Tallinn",
"location_region": null,
"location_coordinates_lat": null,
"location_coordinates_lon": null,
"location_precision": "Unknown",
"is_aggressor_signal": false,
"signal_type": "DEFENSE_PREP_SIGNAL",
"is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
"classification_complete": true,
"hybrid_signal_complete": true,
"classification_confidence": "High",
"classification_rationale": "The event clearly describes an alliance-led cyber defense exercise involving multiple allied nations to prepare and strengthen defenses against cyber threats. There is no indication of adversarial offensive actions occurring in this event, thus it is categorized solely as defense preparation.",
"event_time_utc": "2025-05-06T00:00:00.000Z",
"end_time_utc": null,
"event_time_confidence": "pm24h",
"created_at": "2026-02-01T00:14:25.075Z",
"updated_at": "2026-11-09T01:12:39.052Z",
"reliability_band": "strong",
"location_precision_band": "unknown",
"time_precision_band": "within_24h",
"severity_band": "minor",
"attribution_confidence_band": "high",
"attribution_basis": "single_source"
}Source reliability
C
Info credibility
3
Event time
May 6, 2025, 00:00 UTC
Event time confidence
pm24h
Location
Tallinn
Country
Estonia
Countries
Estonia
Tags
cyber defense exercise, Locked Shields 2025, NATO CCDCOE, offensive cyber operations, Tallinn, international cooperation, critical infrastructure protection, live-fire exercise, 41 nations, 4,000 experts
Nodes
Node 2: 5th Column