Belnet rolls out hands-on training on cyber crisis exercises for universities, federal scientific institutions and hospitals

What if your organisation’s IT systems were hit by a cyberattack? How do you ensure your crisis team works effectively together? And how should you communicate externally in the event of a ransomware attack? These are just a few of the real-life scenarios covered in the first cyber crisis training programme that Belnet launched between 2023 and 2024 in collaboration with the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) and SURF. The first target group was Belgian universities, and by the end of 2024, the programme had been extended to federal scientific institutions and hospitals. This isn’t the first time Belnet has worked closely with the CCB. In 2024, our colleagues also provided valuable input for the CCB’s technical guidelines on DDoS protection and prevention. 

After the three-day workshops, participating organisations are equipped with both the tools and the confidence to organise their own cyber crisis exercise. These simulations are a great way to test their crisis readiness and uncover blind spots or areas for improvement. The goal: to practice in a safe and simulated environment and become better prepared for a real-life cyber crisis. During the follow-up day, participants also get the chance to learn from each other’s experiences. 

Practising what we preach, Belnet also ran an internal crisis exercise in 2024 — which led to the identification of quick wins and clear improvement paths within our own organisation.