Recently India’s National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and the British Government in collaboration with BAE Systems successfully conducted a virtual ransomware drill for 26 countries to prepare for a large, widespread cyber attack.

• The exercise was part of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI)-Resilience Working Group led by the National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) in India.
• The objective of conducting this virtual cyber exercise is to detect and address a large, widespread cyber security incident affecting institutions operating within a country.
• The exercise is designed to support CRI’s mission, and is intended to allow participating CRI members to test their abilities to respond to a major ransomware incident at multiple power distribution companies.
• The theme of the exercise is “Energy Sector” which aims to enable national cyber crisis management teams belonging to CRI affiliates to tackle ransomware attacks on multiple power distribution companies.