“We are pleased to be the official patron of Leonardo’s Cyber Game Award ceremony at Expo 2020 Dubai. Training and international collaboration are both key to the cyber resilience of countries and strategic infrastructure” said H.E. Dr. Mohamed Hamad Al-Kuwaiti, the UAE Government’s Head of Cyber Security. “Our partnerships with global security companies like Leonardo, as well as with universities and the research sector all reinforce our commitment in keeping the UAE safe from cybercrime.” H.E. Dr. Mohamed Hamad Al-Kuwaiti welcomed the Cyber Game Award Ceremony, which took place yesterday in the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The ceremony was attended by prestigious representatives of Italian and Emirates institutions, and of industrial, academic and research communities: Roberto Baldoni, General Director of the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency, Tommaso Profeta, Managing Director of Leonardo's Cyber Security Division, Giacomo Speretta, SVP Marketing, Business Development and Sales Strategy of Leonardo's Cyber Security Division, Ernesto Damiani, Director of the Center for Cyber Physical Systems of Khalifa University, Prof. Luigi Martino, Professor University of Florence, Cybersecurity Italian National Lab (CINI) and Dr. Marwan Alzarouni, Director of the Information Services Department at Dubai Electronic Security Center (DESC).
“The digital transformation is bringing new cyber threats, which are becoming more obiquitous and pervasive, targeting both individuals and organizations worldwide. In order to prevent, mitigate and respond to these threats quickly, skilled workforce and international cooperation are fundamental, and that’s why I really welcome today’s initiative” said Prof. Roberto Baldoni, General Director of the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency. “Leonardo’s Cyber Game, run by very distinguished partners from UAE and Italy, is exactly at the center of this process. Students involvement is key as well to create a new generation of people able to cope with the threats we have in front of us.”
The initiative, under the patronage of UAE Cyber Security Council (CSC), provided the opportunity to engage Italian and Emirates cyber security experts for a discussion on topics of strategic interest for the two nations and the entire cyber security ecosystem, including the need for a common systemic approach to the issue of security, the importance of human capital and the role of technology as an enabling factor for innovative training.
With this goal, industry and academy representatives of the two countries were involved in the Expo 2020 Dubai Leonardo Cyber Game. The game made it possible to highlight and share experiences and best practices, lessons learned and effective approaches and measures due to a common gaming experience.
The playground
The Expo 2020 Dubai Leonardo Cyber Game was held on January 24 on the Leonardo Cyber Range, the platform developed by Leonardo for the training of cyber security specialists, which allows the execution of attack and defense exercises in a simulated environment using a digital copy, the digital twin, isolated from a real system. The operational theater of the challenge was the attack on the IT / OT infrastructure of a company.
The challenge
Four teams, the blue teams, were playing the role of defenders: TeamItaly, the Italian national team of CyberDefense CINI; the team of the UAE Universities (Khalifa University and United Arab Emirates University); Maire Tecnimont; and Emirates Steel & ENEC.
The goal? Protect the company's IT / OT infrastructure by defending the availability of a set of critical IT services, target of attack activities, launched by a red team, made up of ethical hackers operating at the Leonardo Global Security Operation Center in Chieti.
To supervise attacks and defenses, the white team made up of specialists from Leonardo's Laboratory of Genoa, coordinated the game and assessed the performance of the participating teams at the end of the exercise.
The game was a success for all participants who demonstrated a high level of capabilities and commitment. An experience that was a moment of growth in terms of professional skills and competences and a stimulus to promote new ideas and ideas for improvement.
“Cutting-edge technologies are necessary to ensure security, situational awareness and information superiority. But they are not enough; in the field of cyber protection the human element is fundamental. The continuous and pervasive training of all the main actors involved in the management of national security is essential to recognize and face the new risks, in which we increasingly see a convergence between the cyber and physical world. This is why Leonardo has developed technological platforms to train cyber security operators and test digital infrastructures and processes related to their operation and will soon inaugurate its Cyber & Security Academy, a high-level training center on security issues that will exploit the distinctive capacity of company to operate in the main critical domains in the civil and military fields”.
With these words Tommaso Profeta, Managing Director of Leonardo's Cyber Security Division, underlined the strategic importance of the issue of cyber security as an essential element for the protection of critical assets and the productive fabric of a country and consequently the crucial role played by the training of those who deal with security.
For more information: cyberandsecurity@leonardo.com
Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram for more information on our initiatives.