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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will mark the 20th year of its flagship national cyber drill this fall with Cyber Storm X, a biennial exercise that CISA describes as the nation’s largest of its kind. The 10th iteration arrives amid a shifting threat landscape that includes geopolitical tensions, compromised edge devices, and emerging AI risks, the agency said.
Designed to test how government and industry coordinate during a major incident, the full-scale simulation brings together public- and private-sector responders to rehearse a unified cyber response, refine crisis communications, and update playbooks based on lessons learned.
Participation has expanded sharply since the inaugural exercise two decades ago, which drew roughly 500 people. CISA expects about 2,000 critical infrastructure owners and operators to take part this fall, from large national firms to local utilities. Teams span legal, communications, IT, and executive leadership—often meeting their cross-sector counterparts for the first time before a real emergency.
The exercise emulates attacks on essential services but runs entirely on simulated networks, allowing teams to practice without touching live systems. Scenarios are built to mirror real-world complexity and cascading effects across sectors.
CISA pointed to 2024’s Cyber Storm IX as an example: a mock intruder penetrated networks modeled on the Food and Agriculture sector, triggering knock-on disruptions across production, distribution, and retail. The result was slowed movement of goods, payment processing outages at grocery stores, and public confusion amplified by media reports. Participants worked to restore control, contain exposed data, and align messaging to stabilize operations and reassure consumers.
The agency says the effort strengthens national resilience by building trust and clarifying roles before a crisis. As one past participant put it, “Building these relationships and partnerships now is how Cyber Storm is going to help me in my future.” Others reported that the drills improved preparedness, highlighted gaps in cross-functional coordination, and, in the case of one state agency, yielded a tenfold improvement in overall posture.
CISA, part of the Department of Homeland Security, leads national efforts to protect critical infrastructure from cyber and physical threats.
