Locked Shields 2026: Hungarian–Korean cyber security team has learned valuable lessons
Text: First Lieutenant Gergely Szöllősy | Photo: archives | 14:56 May 19, 2026Organized annually since 2010 by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), Locked Shields is one of the world’s largest and most complex cyber security exercises, which tests the participating nations’ technical, strategic, legal and communicative response capabilities under real-time cyberattacks.
This year, Hungarian and Korean cybersecurity professionals participated in the event as members of a joint multinational team, and finished ninth among the 16 participating teams of the exercise.
The late April exercise was a milestone in more than one way: this was the first occasion on which the Hungarians filled the lead nation role in the joint team, so they had to provide for the full professional and organizational control. Also for the first time, the Hungarian experts integrated their own AI-based solutions in the interest of effective task execution.
During Locked Shields, participants had to ensure the continuous operation of designated IT systems and critical infrastructure in a complex, realistic cyber security environment. The Hungarian-Korean team performed especially well in the fields of strategic planning, digital forensics, as well as in providing usability for the user simulation team and keeping the systems operational and available.
The achieved result shows well that the cyber security capabilities of the Hungarian team built on wide-ranging organizational cooperation are competitive even in an international comparison, and that the Hungarian experts are already able to successfully control the allied cyber security cooperation in the lead nation role as well.
