Signal
Submitted
Feb 1, 2026, 00:14 UTC
Latvian participants ranked among the top teams at the Locked Shields 2024, NATO's premier live-fire cyber-defense exercise held in Tallinn on May 3, 2024.
On May 3, 2024, Latvian cyber-defense personnel performed exceptionally well in Locked Shields 2024, held at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn. This exercise is regarded as the world’s most advanced live-fire cyber-defense training, focusing on coalition cooperation to develop national capabilities against cyber threats. The event concluded with a grand coalition formed by teams sharing information despite its competitive nature. Latvia, along with a NATO team and the pairs Finland-Poland and Estonia-France, ranked as the three highest-scoring teams. Lt. Col. Urmet Tõmp, Director of the exercise, emphasized that skills gained here directly strengthen national defenses against real-world cyber threats, contributing to collective security.
Confidence: High
The event describes a NATO cyber-defense exercise aimed at strengthening alliance cyber capabilities, involving Latvian and allied forces actively training and cooperating, with no indication of aggressor offensive action in this context.
Source URL
https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/03.05.2024-latvian-team-excels-at-nato-cyber-defense-exercise.a552767
Published as a Defense Preparations signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.
{
"id": "cadec99b-896b-4a42-96a1-ff6826906840",
"url": "https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/03.05.2024-latvian-team-excels-at-nato-cyber-defense-exercise.a552767",
"source": "csv-import",
"status": "approved",
"category": "Cyber & Information Warfare",
"subcategory": "Cyber Attacks",
"incident_type": "Hacking, malware, ransomware",
"country": "Estonia",
"source_reliability": "C",
"info_credibility": "3",
"tags": [
"Locked Shields 2024",
"NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence",
"NATO cyber defense exercise",
"Latvian cyber-defense team",
"Live-fire cyber defense training",
"Cyber warfare simulation",
"Estonia",
"Finland-Poland cyber cooperation"
],
"nodes": [],
"countries": [],
"where_text": "Cyberspace",
"headline": "Latvian team excels at NATO cyber-defense exercise",
"description": "Locked Shields 2024 concluded in Tallinn with Latvian cyber-defense teams performing at top levels alongside NATO entities. The exercise aimed to enhance coalition capabilities to counter cyber threats, simulating real cyber warfare scenarios. Participants shared information, creating a grand coalition despite competition. Dr. Mart Noorma, Director of NATO CCDCOE, noted the real threats faced by participants and expressed confidence that they will return stronger in defending their nations. The highest-scoring teams were Latvia with a team of NATO entities, Finland-Poland, and Estonia-France. The exercise underscores ongoing NATO efforts to improve collective cyber defense capabilities.",
"summary_short": "Latvian participants ranked among the top teams at the Locked Shields 2024, NATO's premier live-fire cyber-defense exercise held in Tallinn on May 3, 2024.",
"summary_extended": "On May 3, 2024, Latvian cyber-defense personnel performed exceptionally well in Locked Shields 2024, held at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn. This exercise is regarded as the world’s most advanced live-fire cyber-defense training, focusing on coalition cooperation to develop national capabilities against cyber threats. The event concluded with a grand coalition formed by teams sharing information despite its competitive nature. Latvia, along with a NATO team and the pairs Finland-Poland and Estonia-France, ranked as the three highest-scoring teams. Lt. Col. Urmet Tõmp, Director of the exercise, emphasized that skills gained here directly strengthen national defenses against real-world cyber threats, contributing to collective security.",
"actor_primary": "Latvian cyber-defense team",
"target_primary": null,
"location_text": "NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, Tallinn",
"location_region": "Harju County",
"location_coordinates_lat": null,
"location_coordinates_lon": null,
"location_precision": "Regional",
"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 describes a NATO cyber-defense exercise aimed at strengthening alliance cyber capabilities, involving Latvian and allied forces actively training and cooperating, with no indication of aggressor offensive action in this context.",
"event_time_utc": "2024-05-03T00:00:00.000Z",
"end_time_utc": null,
"event_time_confidence": "pm24h",
"created_at": "2026-02-01T00:14:46.976Z",
"updated_at": "2026-11-08T21:53:48.734Z",
"reliability_band": "strong",
"location_precision_band": "regional",
"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 3, 2024, 00:00 UTC
Event time confidence
pm24h
Location
NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, Tallinn
Region
Harju County
Primary actor
Latvian cyber-defense team
Country
Estonia
Tags
Locked Shields 2024, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, NATO cyber defense exercise, Latvian cyber-defense team, Live-fire cyber defense training, Cyber warfare simulation, Estonia, Finland-Poland cyber cooperation
Signal
Submitted
Feb 1, 2026, 00:14 UTC
Latvian participants ranked among the top teams at the Locked Shields 2024, NATO's premier live-fire cyber-defense exercise held in Tallinn on May 3, 2024.
On May 3, 2024, Latvian cyber-defense personnel performed exceptionally well in Locked Shields 2024, held at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn. This exercise is regarded as the world’s most advanced live-fire cyber-defense training, focusing on coalition cooperation to develop national capabilities against cyber threats. The event concluded with a grand coalition formed by teams sharing information despite its competitive nature. Latvia, along with a NATO team and the pairs Finland-Poland and Estonia-France, ranked as the three highest-scoring teams. Lt. Col. Urmet Tõmp, Director of the exercise, emphasized that skills gained here directly strengthen national defenses against real-world cyber threats, contributing to collective security.
Confidence: High
The event describes a NATO cyber-defense exercise aimed at strengthening alliance cyber capabilities, involving Latvian and allied forces actively training and cooperating, with no indication of aggressor offensive action in this context.
Source URL
https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/03.05.2024-latvian-team-excels-at-nato-cyber-defense-exercise.a552767
Published as a Defense Preparations signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.
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"id": "cadec99b-896b-4a42-96a1-ff6826906840",
"url": "https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/03.05.2024-latvian-team-excels-at-nato-cyber-defense-exercise.a552767",
"source": "csv-import",
"status": "approved",
"category": "Cyber & Information Warfare",
"subcategory": "Cyber Attacks",
"incident_type": "Hacking, malware, ransomware",
"country": "Estonia",
"source_reliability": "C",
"info_credibility": "3",
"tags": [
"Locked Shields 2024",
"NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence",
"NATO cyber defense exercise",
"Latvian cyber-defense team",
"Live-fire cyber defense training",
"Cyber warfare simulation",
"Estonia",
"Finland-Poland cyber cooperation"
],
"nodes": [],
"countries": [],
"where_text": "Cyberspace",
"headline": "Latvian team excels at NATO cyber-defense exercise",
"description": "Locked Shields 2024 concluded in Tallinn with Latvian cyber-defense teams performing at top levels alongside NATO entities. The exercise aimed to enhance coalition capabilities to counter cyber threats, simulating real cyber warfare scenarios. Participants shared information, creating a grand coalition despite competition. Dr. Mart Noorma, Director of NATO CCDCOE, noted the real threats faced by participants and expressed confidence that they will return stronger in defending their nations. The highest-scoring teams were Latvia with a team of NATO entities, Finland-Poland, and Estonia-France. The exercise underscores ongoing NATO efforts to improve collective cyber defense capabilities.",
"summary_short": "Latvian participants ranked among the top teams at the Locked Shields 2024, NATO's premier live-fire cyber-defense exercise held in Tallinn on May 3, 2024.",
"summary_extended": "On May 3, 2024, Latvian cyber-defense personnel performed exceptionally well in Locked Shields 2024, held at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn. This exercise is regarded as the world’s most advanced live-fire cyber-defense training, focusing on coalition cooperation to develop national capabilities against cyber threats. The event concluded with a grand coalition formed by teams sharing information despite its competitive nature. Latvia, along with a NATO team and the pairs Finland-Poland and Estonia-France, ranked as the three highest-scoring teams. Lt. Col. Urmet Tõmp, Director of the exercise, emphasized that skills gained here directly strengthen national defenses against real-world cyber threats, contributing to collective security.",
"actor_primary": "Latvian cyber-defense team",
"target_primary": null,
"location_text": "NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, Tallinn",
"location_region": "Harju County",
"location_coordinates_lat": null,
"location_coordinates_lon": null,
"location_precision": "Regional",
"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 describes a NATO cyber-defense exercise aimed at strengthening alliance cyber capabilities, involving Latvian and allied forces actively training and cooperating, with no indication of aggressor offensive action in this context.",
"event_time_utc": "2024-05-03T00:00:00.000Z",
"end_time_utc": null,
"event_time_confidence": "pm24h",
"created_at": "2026-02-01T00:14:46.976Z",
"updated_at": "2026-11-08T21:53:48.734Z",
"reliability_band": "strong",
"location_precision_band": "regional",
"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 3, 2024, 00:00 UTC
Event time confidence
pm24h
Location
NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, Tallinn
Region
Harju County
Primary actor
Latvian cyber-defense team
Country
Estonia
Tags
Locked Shields 2024, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, NATO cyber defense exercise, Latvian cyber-defense team, Live-fire cyber defense training, Cyber warfare simulation, Estonia, Finland-Poland cyber cooperation