COMCYBER, the Nancy Defense Base, the University of Lorraine, Lorraine INP and the Greater Nancy metropolis are organizing the 4th edition of Cyber Humanum Est, the largest university cyberwarfare exercise, from February 5 to 9, 2024. In all, more than 190 participants (students, teacher-researchers, military personnel, reservists, private and public players) will work together to solve an unprecedented scenario.
Under the aegis of the Cyberdefense Command (COMCYBER) of the Ministry of the Armed Forces and the University of Lorraine, the Nancy Defense Base, Lorraine INP and the Greater Nancy Metropolis are organizing, for the fourth year running, a “Wargame / Capture The Flag” cyberdefense exercise, with the aim of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities on virtual and real platforms in a context of informational struggle for influence: the Cyber Humanum Est.
This extraordinary exercise uses 1 CyberRange to simulate attack and defense scenarios. It brings together over 100 students, from bac+3 to bac+6 levels (from BUT to Mastère), from 6 Nancy establishments (Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, IUT Nancy-Brabois, Mines Nancy, Polytech Nancy, Télécom Nancy and UFR Sciences Humaines et Sociales). This year, the event also took on an international dimension, with the inclusion of students from Luxembourg’s Lycée Guillaume Kroll. 90 contributors from the Ministry of the Armed Forces, scientific clusters and major industrial groups were involved in organizing, running and supervising the event. New national sponsors and partners have also joined the project: Geoide, Idverde, Thalès, Capgemini, Sopra Steria, Siemens, Inetum, Root Me Pro, Orange, 3D Advance, RS Components, the Centre de Traitement Informatique de Strasbourg and the Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie de Meurthe et Moselle. But also local cybersecurity gems: SOTERIA Lab and Cyber Detect.
Florent Kirchner, coordinator of the French National Cybersecurity Strategy and patron of the 4th edition of Cyber Humanum Est, underlines the exemplary nature of the exercise through its unique approach to the Army-Training-Industry triptych, and even speaks of a national benchmark event that helps to decompartmentalize cybersecurity issues.
Scenario, schedule and objectives of Cyber Humanum Est
This year, the experts drew inspiration from the current geostrategic context to imagine a scenario that blends physical and virtual, electromagnetic and informational fields:
In February 2023, the Riverchelles government awarded Cryptanga the license to exploit lithium resources following a competitive bidding process with Anumeric. After several months of extraction of the precious ore, a life-saving resource for the Riverchelles economy, the mining permit is about to expire. A new call for tenders has therefore been launched to continue extracting the metal. The renewal of this contract comes at the same time as the new presidential elections in the Riverchelles. The president is counting on this operation to achieve a double coup and renew his mandate. He has therefore combined the renewal of the operating license with an additional obligation to commit to a strategic sector for the Riverchelles. The chosen sectors are:
- Healthcare: with the modernization of hospital care and the sharing of manpower and knowledge between the Riverchelles and the country to which the contract will be awarded.
- Energy: with the creation of power plants and electricity and gas distribution networks.
- Transport: with the deployment of an infrastructure across the entire Riverchelles coastline to reduce the carbon footprint of transport.
During this cyber exercise, participants will :
- Understand security mechanisms to protect IT, network and physical equipment;
- Thwart cyber attacks in practice;
- Carry out hacking activities within an ethical framework;
- Manage teams and handle a cyber crisis.
Produced in collaboration with the COMCYBER cyber defense operational reserve, the Université de Lorraine and cybersecurity experts, Cyber Humanum Est is taking place this year on a unique site: the IUT de Nancy-Brabois.
This fourth edition features an unprecedented mobilization of military resources. Thanks to the technical and digital skills of the 53e Régiment de Transmissions de Lunéville, and logistical support from the Nancy defense base and the Université de Lorraine, the experience is even more immersive, recreating conditions close to those found in a military operational theater.
Organized in collaboration with the COMCYBER cyber-defense operational reserve, the Université de Lorraine and cybersecurity experts, Cyber Humanum Est is taking place this year on a unique site: the IUT de Nancy-Brabois.
This fourth edition features an unprecedented mobilization of military resources. Thanks to the technical and digital skills of the 53e Régiment de Transmissions de Lunéville, and logistical support from the Nancy defense base and the Université de Lorraine, the experience is even more immersive, recreating conditions close to those found in a military operational theater.
At the end of the event, the teams will receive several awards: “Best crisis management”, “Best defense”, “Best attack”, “Best fight for influence”, “Exercise winner”, and new this year, on the initiative of Geoide and Siemens, the “Scad’Hack” award.
“Cybersecurity is a major challenge, and the Université de Lorraine’s training and research activities are internationally recognized in this field. For several years now, the Cyber Humanum Est team has been federating forces from all areas of the Université de Lorraine, whether in the humanities and social sciences, engineering sciences, or experimental and formal sciences. The aim of this synergy is to offer students a life-size exercise, putting to the test the skills they acquire throughout their training. The exercise is the result of a fruitful collaboration between the Université de Lorraine, the Nancy defense base, the COMCYBER cyberdefense operational reserve and industrial partners. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to offer an exercise of this quality, playing a major role in developing the skills of all players and new generations”, emphasizes Hélène Boulanger, President of the Université de Lorraine.
“This 4th edition of Cyber Humanum Est plunges students into the heart of a realistic and immersive cyber crisis management exercise, in a more militarized environment this year. It prepares the future experts, the cybercombatants we need. We’re recruiting young talent, young graduates to whom we offer a broad spectrum of activities and rich operational missions. As co-organizer of this event with Lorraine INP and the Nancy defense base, its success is due to the fruitful collaboration of the COMCYBER cyberdefense operational reserve, the University of Lorraine and numerous cybersecurity experts”, explains Major General Aymeric Bonnemaison, Commander of the cyberdefense.
Detailed program:
- February 5: Launch of the exercise (scenario pitch and role-play) at IUT Nancy-Brabois
- February 6 and 7: Exercise climax, 48 h non-stop at IUT Nancy-Brabois
- February 8: Retex (Feedback with students) at Télécom Nancy
- February 9: Awards ceremony and cybersecurity careers forum at Mines Nancy
Cyber Humanum Est is part of the “competitiveness and influence, assets of Greater Nancy” public policy. A first agreement was signed by the Metropole du Grand Nancy and the Base de Défense de Nancy in 2018 around cybersecurity issues, and a second in 2020, by the Base de Défense de Nancy and the Université de Lorraine to improve student training in cybersecurity and cyberdefense.
