Spain achieves its strategic objectives in the ‘Locked Shields 2026’ exercise

• The Spanish Blue Team has spearheaded the creation of a network of cybersecurity experts

Spain has concluded its participation in ‘Locked Shields 2026’, the largest annual real-time cyber defence exercise organised by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, fulfilling the objective of fostering a network of cybersecurity experts capable of acting in a coordinated manner to protect cyberspace. In short, the exercise has succeeded in bringing civilian and military experts ‘face to face’, a fundamental element in ensuring cooperation.

The Spanish Blue Team, which finished in 12th place overall, comprised 186 participants, including personnel from the Joint Cyber Command (MCCE), the Armed Forces, the State Security Forces, public bodies and private companies.

The Spanish team, comprising the areas of Stratex (political-level management of the scenario); Intel (gathering intelligence, which is the cornerstone for carrying out defensive actions); Legal (real-time advice on the legality or legal consequences of actions carried out in cyberspace); StratCom (how to communicate the various situations arising from the conflict to the public, or how to counter the enemy’s narratives); and Technical (those who execute the defensive actions).

Over two intense days of competition — preceded by a week of preparation — the team demonstrated its ability to defend critical infrastructure such as power grids, communications systems, military bases, banks and nuclear power stations against thousands of simultaneous cyberattacks in real time.

Spain’s performance in the exercise was particularly notable in the Usability category (the ability to keep systems usable and functional for legitimate users whilst defending against an attack), where it finished in first place, whilst the Stratex team came sixth and the StratCom team ranked eighth.

The main objective of ‘Locked Shields’ is to strengthen international cooperation in the field of cyber defence. Held since 2010, this exercise aims to foster coordination between NATO countries and their partners, promoting collaboration and the standardisation of response protocols in the face of increasingly complex global threats.