The NCCC and its partners held the second wave of cyber exercises «UA-EE Cyber Shield via Tallinn Mechanism»

The National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity together with the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Ukraine, the Estonian International Development Agency, the Academy of Electronic Governance, the Estonian company CybExer Technologies and the Ukrainian company AmonSul held the second wave of the large-scale cybersecurity competition «UA-EE Cyber Shield via Tallinn mechanism» from April 21 to 23, 2025. The event was organized within the framework of the Tallinn Mechanism to strengthen cyber resilience and exchange of experience between Ukraine and Estonia.

The event was aimed at providing participants with knowledge and practical skills in preventing, detecting and responding to modern cyber threats. Realistic scenarios of cyber incidents allowed participants to work in conditions as close as possible to real attacks, raising the professional level of specialists from government agencies, critical enterprises, students and cadets of specialized universities.

The competition was opened on behalf of Ukraine by Serhiy Demediuk, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Anton Demokhin, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization, Ihor Malchenyuk, Head of the Cyber Defense Department of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, Vitaliy Lavrov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalization, and Halyna Gaidur, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of System.

In their opening speeches, the speakers emphasized the importance of strengthening international partnerships and sharing practical knowledge on countering cyber threats.

«Cyber competitions are not only an educational tool, but also a powerful exchange of experience between specialists. This is a modern combat sport where attacks are not delivered physically but through cyber attacks - fast, accurate, strategic. That is why such training is extremely important: it develops skills that can be decisive at a critical moment. I would like to see all of this stay within the confines of sport - no espionage, no real threats, just for the sake of development and peaceful competition. But, unfortunately, with such an aggressive neighbor, this is only a dream. Therefore, we must always be on the alert», said Serhiy Demediuk, Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

In his speech, Vitaliy Lavrov, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, spoke about the official recognition of a new military-applied sport in Ukraine, its impact on improving defense capabilities, and plans for international development.

«Military-technology sport is a competition based on military scenarios and technological means: drones, unmanned systems, robotic systems, cyberspace. The main objective is to improve the skills of the participants in the use of technological means of warfare. The official recognition took place on February 24, 2025», Vitaly Lavrov emphasized.

On behalf of the Estonian side, Anneli Kolk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia to Ukraine, and Tanel Sepp, Ambassador-at-Large for Cyber Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, also delivered official speeches at the competition venue.

In their welcoming speeches, they emphasized the importance of the competition and further support for Ukraine in this area.

«Estonia supports Ukraine with all possible means, and cybersecurity is one of the priorities. Within the framework of the Tallinn Mechanism, we see the high professionalism of Ukrainian partners. Our joint efforts really increase Ukraine's cyber resilience», said Anneli Kolk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Estonia to Ukraine.

The competition was attended by 146 participants organized into 25 «blue» teams that worked in a realistic simulation environment. Participants demonstrated their skills in responding to complex cyber incidents and developed effective strategies for protecting critical systems.

«The blue teams were responsible for protecting IT and OT systems, identifying vulnerabilities and responding to incidents, while the red teams simulated the actions of attackers. The red team consisted of CybExer experts, representatives of the NCCC, and Ukrainian cybersecurity institutions. In addition to the «combat» simulation, the participants performed threat detection tasks (ThreatHunting) and competitions in «capture the flag» (CaptureTheFlag).

The exercise was attended by representatives of the SES of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces, the State Special Communications Service, the National Police, the NCCC and leading Ukrainian universities.

As part of the National Initiative launched by the NCCC in September 2024 to strengthen the role of women in cybersecurity, two women's teams took part in this year's competition for the first time. According to the results of the competition, the NCCC women's team «G1rlUn1ty» won in one of the nominations. Step by step, the NCCC is creating an ecosystem of equal opportunities, where women's leadership is driving innovation, protecting the digital space and strengthening democratic Ukraine.

The cyber exercises were part of the Tallinn Mechanism initiative launched in December 2023 by 11 countries — Estonia, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Canada, Poland, France, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The initiative aims to strengthen Ukraine's civilian cybersecurity. Italy recently joined the initiative, and NATO and the EU participate as observers.

The winners of the competition were: #DNAcademy team of the SSU National Academy.
The teams were also recognized in the following categories:

«The best women's team» - the women's team of the NCCC ‘G1rlUn1ty’ (National Bank, Armed Forces, SSSCIP, SSU);

«Best University» — dcua team of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute;

«SITREP Situation Report» — Eagles team of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

«Dissemination of Information (MISP)» — ‘Netflix & Chill’ team of the State Center for Cyber Defense of the State Special Communications Service.

More photos HERE