EU Ramps Up Cyber Resilience with Major Crisis Simulation Exercise

Italy has led a simulation exercise to test EU institutions’ preparedness to handle large-scale cyber-attacks.

This annual drill, the Blueprint Operational Level Exercise (Blue OLEx), involves senior cybersecurity officials from EU member states and the Commission, with the support of EU

The exercise helps cybersecurity leaders identify areas for improvement in the standardized way of responding to incidents and crises. The results contribute to the evaluation of the Blueprint for a coordinated response to large-scale cybersecurity incidents and crises, adopted in 2017. 

This year, Blue OLEx focuses on executive-level cooperation, in particular via the Cyber Crisis Liaison Organisation Network (EU-CyCLONe) which was established by the NIS2 Directive.

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Blue OLEx was hosted in Rome by the Italian Cybersecurity Agency (ACN).

Bruno Frattasi, Director General of the ACN, commented: “We are very pleased with the outcomes of the BlueOlex exercise and proud to have hosted it in Italy. […] The exercise model used in BlueOlex fosters valuable exchanges of ideas and perspectives among crisis management leaders from each member state. This event also provides an exceptional opportunity to strengthen ties and build trust among network representatives.”

“The cyber resilience of each member state is intricately linked to that of Europe as a whole, particularly in interconnected sectors such as energy,” he added.

Coordinating Cyber Crisis Management Through EU-CyCLONe

EU-CyCLONe is a cooperation network for member-states’ national authorities in charge of cyber crisis management.

The network was launched in 2020 and formalized in January 2023. Its chair rotates with the Presidency of the Council of the EU, which Hungary holds from July to December 2024.

It aims to contribute to managing large-scale cyber incidents and crises at the operational level.

It complements the existing cybersecurity structures at the EU level by linking cooperation at the technical level, such as the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRTs), and at the political level, such as the Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR).

“BlueOLEX24 has not only allowed us to fine-tune our response capabilities and enhance cooperation, but it has also brought together nations to confront and manage cross-border cyber threats effectively,” said a spokesperson from the Hungarian government currently chairing the EU-CyCLONe Network.

 “Moving forward, CyCLONe will continue to drive resilience and unity in our response to the evolving cyber threat landscape.”

From October 17, 2024, and every 18 months after that, EU-CyCLONe will submit a report assessing its work to the European Parliament and the Council.

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