To strengthen the awareness and capability of government bureaux/departments (B/Ds) in tackling an emerging threat of cyber attacks, the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) co-organised the second Inter-departmental Cyber Security Drill with the Government Computer Emergency Response Team Hong Kong (GovCERT.HK) at the Central Government Offices on January 10.

Given the ever-changing cyber threats, both the CSTCB and GovCERT.HK highlighted the importance of enhancing the overall competencies of B/Ds in mitigating the threats. The drill reinforced the Force's collaboration with other B/Ds in safeguarding cyber security.

A total of 40 B/Ds participated in the drill, which covered scenarios on four most prominent cyber attacks – webpage defacement, ransomware attack, distributed denial-of-service attack and data leakage incident. All scenarios were carefully designed to give a realistic experience to the participants, who were divided into 10 groups to cope with simulated cyber attacks at the technical and management levels. The participants were then invited to talk about their experience in the drill. The CSTCB and GovCERT.HK representatives also shared their expert advice to ensure that all participants were fully aware of the prevailing cyber threats as well as the recommended preventive and responding actions.

The drill offered an excellent platform for B/Ds to assess their cyber security preparedness and formulate effective strategies to maintain their resilience. It also demonstrated the Force's determination to share its expertise with its work partners in handling and investigating cyber security incidents.