CYBERSECURITY EXERCISES: CZ PRES AND HEALTH CZECH National trainings 7 Number of participants 504 International trainings 3 The year 2022 was marked by the preparations and subsequent implementation of CZ PRES. The NÚKIB organised two non-technical cybersecurity trainings aimed at preparing selected employees of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic and other relevant authorities involved in CZ PRES preparations for a realistic crisis situation in the field of cybersecurity. The training focused on testing the crisis communication processes and channels set up for CZ PRES, also with regard to informing EU partners. The trainings also helped map the conditions of CZ PRES preparations and reveal some potential weak points. International exercises also took place in 2022. Locked Shields 2022 was the first one. At this most comprehensive cybersecurity exercise in the world, organised by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia, a joint team of Czech and Slovak cybersecurity specialists earned 5th position. On behalf of the Czech Republic, the joint team included representatives of the NÚKIB, CIRC of the Ministry of Defense, EG.D, RedHat, CZ.NIC, Česká Spořitelna and other experts from the Czech security community. Additional benefit of this training was the opportunity to deepen cooperation with our Slovak colleagues, which will carry on beyond the scope of the exercise. Cyber Coalition is another international cybersecurity exercise held regularly by NATO. In the Czech Republic, the NÚKIB is in charge of coordinating the civil part of the exercise, while the Command of Cyber Forces and Information Operations oversees the military part. The name of the exercise underscores its goal to support a strong community and mutual cooperation. This is achieved through scenarios that not only contain technical challenges, but also encourage individual states to work together and develop a shared situational awareness. Unlike the Locked Shields exercise, there is no formal winner; the exercise is all about cooperation, coordination, and communication in the context of dealing with a crisis emanating from cyberspace. At the end of 2022, a second non-technical cybersecurity exercise named Health Czech 2022 focusing on the healthcare sector took place. The exercise was organized for healthcare organizations designated as basic service providers. Representatives from each entity answered questions in teams based on a prepared scenario and together discussed various aspects of cybersecurity. In addition to the teams representing health care institutions, the exercise was attended by representatives of the NÚKIB and other invited institutions (Office for Personal Data Protection, Police of the Czech Republic, CZ.NIC) which are also relevant to the management and resolution of such crises. To make the exercise more realistic, media representatives were also present to communicate with the participants about the escalating crisis to simulate a real crisis. Future Trends of Cybersecurity Exercises: An Outlook The NÚKIB will continue to focus on the development of the „train-the-trainer“ concept, which aims to provide support to entities in the form of consultations and workshops as they prepare their own cybersecurity exercises. This will soon be a necessity, especially in the near future following the NIS 2 Directive coming into effect, as there will be a significant increase in regulated entities and, therefore, also a significantly higher number of potential exercise participants. 37