MOSCOW, 26 May (BelTA) – The special services of the CIS member states have carried out the first stage of the CIS counterterrorism exercise Cyber Antiterror 2016, the press service of the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center told BelTA.
According to the source, security agencies and special services of the CIS member states carried out a number of search and respond actions coordinated by the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center to detect and suppress acts of cyberterrorism as part of the first stage of the CIS counterterrorism exercise Cyber Antiterror 2016 on 23-25 May.
In particular, with assistance of the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center experts from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia practiced the detection and filtering of DDoS attacks staged by imaginary terrorists against a critical piece of infrastructure (a power engineering industry installation) located in Belarus. The experts determined IP subnets of the accomplices of the imaginary terrorists and their geographical locations.
The experts then used minimal data provided by the collective-access information systems of the CIS states, including the specialized database of the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center and fingerprint databases, to determine the identity of the cyberterrorists, document their illegal activities, and prevent their attempt to disrupt control over the critical installation.
The efforts resulted in the simultaneous arrest of the imaginary cyberterrorists in Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Russian Federation. The equipment they used to commit crimes was seized.
Results of the first stage of the CIS counterterrorism exercise Cyber Antiterror 2016 will be summed up when top officers of the counterterrorism units of the security agencies and special services of the CIS member states convene in Minsk on 31 May – 2 June. A counterterrorism operation will be staged then to free hostages and neutralize terrorists at a strategically important installation (the Lukoml state district power plant).
The press service of the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center told BelTA that joint counterterrorism exercises are an important component in practical interaction between the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The main purpose of the exercises is to improve the readiness of security agencies, special services, and other power-wielding agencies of the CIS member states to work together to counteract terrorist threats and challenges. Practical experience is accumulated and the best practices are shared during such exercises.
