Many people have asked us: What is Locked Shields?

After sharing our participation in Locked Shields 2026, one question kept coming up:

What exactly is Locked Shields?

Locked Shields is the world's largest live-fire cyber defence exercise, organized annually by NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). Every year, it brings together cybersecurity professionals from across the globe to defend realistic critical infrastructure against advanced cyber attacks in a fast-paced and demanding environment.

What makes Locked Shields unique is that it goes beyond the technical aspects of cybersecurity. Participants are challenged not only to respond to cyber attacks, but also to deal with operational, legal, strategic, and communication challenges—reflecting the complexity of real-world cyber incidents.

ICSRange at Locked Shields 2026

We are proud that ICSRange was the only Danish company contributing to the Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR) component of Locked Shields 2026.

Digital Forensics & Incident Response is a key discipline within cybersecurity. Responding to an attack is only part of the challenge. Organizations also need to understand what happened, analyze digital evidence, reconstruct events, and use those insights to strengthen their resilience against future attacks.

Locked Shields provides a unique opportunity to develop and test these capabilities in realistic scenarios, while bringing together cybersecurity professionals from across nations and disciplines.

Why exercises like Locked Shields matter

Cyber threats continue to evolve, and defending against them requires more than technology alone. It requires preparation, collaboration, and practical experience.

Exercises such as Locked Shields allow cybersecurity professionals to work in realistic environments where technical expertise, teamwork, and decision-making are all put to the test. The experience gained helps strengthen both individual capabilities and the wider cybersecurity community.

For ICSRange, contributing to Locked Shields is an opportunity to support one of the world's most advanced cyber defence exercises while continuing to develop expertise within Digital Forensics & Incident Response.

We are proud to have been the only Danish company contributing to the DFIR component of Locked Shields 2026 and to support an exercise that helps strengthen cyber resilience across the international cybersecurity community.