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  1. UNOCT Cybersecurity table-top exercise focuses on preparedness for terrorist cyber-attack against critical infrastructure

UNOCT Cybersecurity table-top exercise focuses on preparedness for terrorist cyber-attack against critical infrastructure

On 27 - 28 March 2024, UNOCT and the Counter-Terrorism Preparedness Network (CTPN) in partnership with the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) organized a two-day table-top exercise in Vienna focused on a terrorist cyber-attack against critical infrastructure using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).  

Representatives from eight cities, namely Barcelona, Brussels, Copenhagen, London, New York, Seoul, Singapore, and Stockholm participated in the event alongside Chief Information Security Officers and Chief Information Officers, cybersecurity specialists, and law enforcement and counter-terrorism agencies. They shared good practices in information security and critical infrastructure protection, explored response structures, capabilities, and contingencies through the scenario exercise, exchanged knowledge and developed policy-driven solutions. 

The event was closed by Mr. Mauro Miedico, Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) at UNOCT, Mr. Helmut Leopold, Head of Center, Digital Safety & Security at AIT, and Mr. Philipp Agathonos, Head of the Civilian Crisis Management Unit within the Austrian Ministry for European and External Affairs. 
In his closing remarks, Mr. Miedico commended the fruitful collaboration between the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre, CTPN and AIT and delivered a certificate of appreciation to AIT to thank the Institute for its on-going support to the Cybersecurity and New Technologies programme since 2019. He also underlined that such a scenario-based exercise “provides an opportunity for strategic, operational and tactical leaders from cities to consider their capabilities to respond to cyber-incidents perpetrated by terrorists and reflect on how multi-agency preparedness and response arrangements could be enhanced and resilience developed”.
This table-top exercise builds upon the Memorandum of Understanding UNOCT and CTPN signed on 6 February 2024, reinforcing a three-year partnership and setting forth a five-year strategic framework.