The annual Cyber Simulated Threat Response and Incident Knowledge Exercise, or Cyber STRIKE, conducted in conjunction with New York City Cyber Command, took on a slightly different twist this year. The  training exercise, completed by a team of Cyber Fellows from the NYU Center for Cybersecurity, used a city-run cyber range to test their ability to detect and defend against potential attacks on government, educational and corporate organizations. But, coming as it did almost six months after New York shut down and then began the slow process of re-opening, the exercise also provided some insights into the resilience of the city’s defenses. At a time when key municipal employees are still largely working from home, and when new attack vectors have been made possible by the distributed nature of the workforce, there was reason to believe those defenses could be in jeopardy.

The results of the simulation are encouraging. As quoted in an article in Statescoop.com, Mitch Herckis, a New York City Cyber Command senior adviser noted, “Five months on, New York’s cybersecurity infrastructure has shown its sturdiness,” adding “We learned a lot about how we could work in moments of trial.”

The participants are all enrolled in the Cyber Fellows program, a master’s degree initiative specifically launched to meet the urgent need for cybersecurity professionals in the coming years. During the exercise, the Fellows had to respond to three distinct cyber threat: ransomware infestation, spearphishing, and a cryptocurrency mining scam. 

The full article can be read here.